- propel
- c.1440, "to drive away, expel," from L. propellere "push forward," from pro- "forward" + pellere "to push, drive." Meaning "to drive onward, cause to move forward" is from 1658. Propellant "fuel for a rocket engine" is from 1919. Propeller in mechanical sense is first attested 1809, of ships; of flying machines (in a broad, theoretical sense) 1842, in the specific modern sense 1853; shortened form prop is recorded from 1914.