Literary notes about Propel (AI summary)
The term "propel" is employed in literature to denote both literal and figurative movement, emphasizing an active force pushing something forward. It appears in descriptions of physical motion—such as sails driving ships over the tide ([1], [2]), mechanisms moving boats or vehicles ([3], [4]), or even limbs helping a weary character press on despite fatigue ([5])—while it also captures the inner drive of characters or ideas, as when subtle influences are said to propel emotions or nerve impulses ([6]). Whether portraying technological advances, natural forces, or human determination ([7], [8]), the word consistently conveys a dynamic force that initiates and sustains progress.
- Æolus, king of the winds, shared with Dædalus the honor of inventing the sails which propel the ships so swiftly over the tide.
— from Myths of Greece and RomeNarrated with Special Reference to Literature and Art by H. A. (Hélène Adeline) Guerber - But the dirty, torn sails which the children saw did not promise to hold wind enough to propel the water-logged craft.
— from Six Little Bunkers at Mammy June's by Laura Lee Hope - Looking closer, Smith saw that the masts were exceedingly tall; they held enough canvas to propel ten ships.
— from The Devolutionist and the Emancipatrix by Homer Eon Flint - The airship needs its motors only to propel it forward.
— from The Story of the Airship (Non-rigid)A Study of One of America's Lesser Known Defense Weapons by Hugh Allen - He was spiritless, sore, weak; he ached in every bone and muscle, and it required all his determination to propel himself up the hill.
— from Rainbow's End by Rex Beach - or that I propel the finer influences through my nerves!
— from Biographia Literaria by Samuel Taylor Coleridge - A six-engine cluster of RL-10s was also used to propel the S4 stage of the Saturn 1.
— from Rockets, Missiles, and Spacecraft of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution - If one cannot propel himself to a given haven of success he should at least anchor in a place of safety.
— from The Transgressors Story of a Great Sin A Political Novel of the Twentieth Century by Francis Alexandre Adams
