Meaning
Agitation, publicity, public communication aimed at influencing an audience and furthering an agenda.
Etymology
Origin: Latin
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *per-der.? Proto-Indo-European *pér Proto-Indo-European *-o Proto-Indo-European *pró Proto-Indo-European *pro- Proto-Italic *pro- Latin prō̆- Proto-Indo-European *peh₂ǵ- Latin prōpāgō Latin prōpāgandus New Latin prōpāgandader. English propaganda From New Latin prōpāganda, short for Congregātiō dē Prōpāgandā Fidē (“a committee of cardinals established in 1622 by Gregory XV to supervise foreign missions”, literally “congregation for propagating the faith”), and properly the ablative feminine gerundive of Latin prōpāgō (“propagate”). Once the word had been detached from the phrase from which it originated, it could be reinterpreted as a neuter plural gerundive, meaning "things to be propagated"; compare agenda. Modern political sense dates from World War I, not originally pejorative.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
Accepted in 2 recorded puzzles, including a pangram: