Propelling

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The action of applying force to enable forward movement
2. Driving or pushing something ahead by exerting energy
3. Moving an object onward through active force or effort

Etymology: "Propelling" is the present participle of "propel," so its story is really the story of its root verb. English borrowed the idea from Latin "propellere," built from "pro," meaning "forward," and "pellere," meaning "to push" or "to drive." Put together, the parts describe a plain physical act: shoving something onward. The earliest English form, in Middle English, meant something rougher than the modern sense. It could mean "to drive out" or "to expel," so the forward push originally carried an element of forcing someone or something away. Over time the sense softened into the neutral motion we now associate with engines, boats and bicycles, where the force goes forward rather than out.

Synonyms: driving, pushing, thrusting, moving, shoving

Antonyms: stopping, halt, ceasing, retracting, pulling