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Propagate vs Cause - What's the difference?

propagate | cause | Related terms |

As verbs the difference between propagate and cause

is that propagate is to cause to continue or multiply by generation, or successive production; -- applied to animals and plants; as, to propagate a breed of horses or sheep; to propagate a species of fruit tree while cause is to set off an event or action.

As a noun cause is

the source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.

propagate

English

Verb

  • To cause to continue or multiply by generation, or successive production; -- applied to animals and plants; as, to propagate a breed of horses or sheep; to propagate a species of fruit tree.
  • To cause to spread to extend; to impel or continue forward in space; as, to propagate sound or light.
  • To spread from person to person; to extend the knowledge of; to originate and spread; to carry from place to place; to disseminate
  • * Daniel Defoe
    • The infection was propagated insensibly.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=December 19 , author=Kerry Brown , title=Kim Jong-il obituary , work=The Guardian citation , page= , passage=The DPRK propagated an extraordinary tale of his birth occurring on Mount Baekdu, one of Korea's most revered sites, being accompanied by shooting stars in the sky. It is more likely that he was born in a small village in the USSR, while his father was serving as a Soviet-backed general during the second world war.}}
  • (obsolete) To multiply; to increase.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Griefs of mine own lie heavy in my breast, / Which thou wilt propagate .
  • To generate; to produce.
  • * De Quincey
    • Motion propagated motion, and life threw off life.
  • To have young or issue; to be produced or multiplied by generation, or by new shoots or plants; as, rabbits propagate rapidly.
  • (computing) To take effect on all relevant devices in a network.
    • It takes 24 hours for password changes to propagate throughout the system.
  • (computing) To cause to take effect on all relevant devices in a network.
    • The server propagates the password file at midnight each day.

    Derived terms

    * propagation * propagator

    References

    * ----

    cause

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The source of, or reason for, an event or action; that which produces or effects a result.
    • Her wedding will be cause for celebration.
    They identified a burst pipe as the cause of the flooding.
  • * , chapter=5
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength—all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.}}
  • A goal, aim or principle, especially one which transcends purely selfish ends.
  • * Shakespeare
    • God befriend us, as our cause is just.
  • * Burke
    • The part they take against me is from zeal to the cause .
  • (obsolete) Sake; interest; advantage.
  • * Bible, 2 Corinthians vii. 12
    • I did it not for his cause .
  • (obsolete) Any subject of discussion or debate; a matter; an affair.
  • * Shakespeare
    • What counsel give you in this weighty cause ?
  • (legal) A suit or action in court; any legal process by which a party endeavors to obtain his claim, or what he regards as his right; case; ground of action.

    • Synonyms

    * (source or reason) reason, source

    Derived terms

    * because * causal * causality * causative * cause celebre * efficient cause * final cause * for cause (law) * formal cause * material cause

    See also

    * effect

    Verb

    (caus)
  • To set off an event or action.
  • *
    • Serene, smiling, enigmatic, she faced him with no fear whatever showing in her dark eyes.She put back a truant curl from her forehead where it had sought egress to the world, and looked him full in the face now, drawing a deep breath which caused the round of her bosom to lift the lace at her throat.
  • * {{quote-magazine, title=A better waterworks, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838
    • , page=5 (Technology Quarterly), magazine=(The Economist) citation , passage=An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic
  • To actively produce as a result, by means of force or authority.
  • * Bible, (w) vii.4
    • I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days.
  • * , chapter=13
    • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good.}}
  • To assign or show cause; to give a reason; to make excuse.
    • (Spenser)

    Derived terms

    * causation

    Statistics

    *

    External links

    * *

    Anagrams

    * English control verbs ----