Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - propagate

 verb  (-gated; -gating)  Etymology: Latin propagatus, past participle of propagare to set slips, ~, from propages slip, offspring, from pro- before + pangere to fasten — more at pro-, pact  Date: circa 1570  transitive verb  1. to cause to continue or increase by sexual or asexual reproduction  2. to pass along to offspring  3.  a. to cause to spread out and affect a greater number or greater area ; extend  b. to foster growing knowledge of, familiarity with, or acceptance of (as an idea or belief) ; publicize  c. to transmit (as sound or light) through a medium  intransitive verb  1. to multiply sexually or asexually  2. increase, extend  3. to travel through space or a material — used of wave energy (as light, sound, or radio waves)  • propagative adjective  • propagator noun