Propagative

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Pertaining to the capability of generating new life forms or ideas
2. Concerning the ability to produce offspring or cause expansion in populations or concepts
3. Involving processes that allow living things or notions to multiply and extend their presence

Etymology: "Propagative" is simply "propagate" with the suffix "-ive" added, and the suffix carries most of the story. "-ive" passed from Latin "-īvus" into Old French as "-if" and then into Middle English as "-yf," which over time settled into the modern "-ive." Its job is to turn a verb into an adjective meaning "tending to" or "having the capacity for" the action, so a propagative thing is one inclined to spread or reproduce. The verb underneath, "propagate," carries the older sense. It is rooted in the idea of spreading something outward, which is why the same word can describe plants, animals, or ideas. Adding the suffix narrows that broad sense to the ability itself, applying it to offspring in biology or to expansion in populations and concepts.

Synonyms: reproductive, propagating, multiplicative

Antonyms: destructive, non-reproductive