1 breed specimens of (a plant or animal) by natural processes from the parent stock: try propagating your own houseplants from cuttings. • [no object] (of a plant or animal) reproduce by natural processes: the plant propagates freely from stem cuttings. 2 spread and promote (an idea, theory, etc.) widely: the French propagated the idea that the English were violent and gluttonous drunkards. 3 (with reference to motion, light, sound, etc.) transmit or be transmitted in a particular direction or through a medium: [with object] : electromagnetic effects can be propagated at a finite velocity only through material substances | [no object] : a hydraulic fracture is generally expected to propagate in a vertical plane | (as adjective propagated) : a propagated electrical signal.

The first meaning applies to plants or animals, and the gloss only mentions that it doesn’t apply to plants. Odd that he doesn’t just say it has nothing to do with breeding, be it plants or animals. Since that’s very ambiguous — it could mean that it does apply to animals, or it could mean that he simply didn’t think about animals when he wrote the gloss — we are not served well by this definition.

The primary link between traveling through time and all these definitions of propagate is that idea of moving through time. As an idea propagates through time, it gets modified and distributed across populations. As a genetic trait propagates, again, it distributes itself within a population over time. As light or heat or electric charge propagates through a medium, again, it relates to the passage of time and dispersion.

It tends to relate to the questions of where something goes and how it changes or causes change over time.

Or something else. I don’t know. I’m trying to help, but I think we’re all pretty helpless here.

charghwI’ vaghnerya’ngan

rInpa’ bomnIS be’’a’ pI’.

On Mar 25, 2020, at 5:16 PM, Lieven L. Litaer <levinius@gmx.de> wrote:

I have again one of these annoying but important transitivity questions.
It's a bit influenced by the point that I don't know the English word:

{vIb} "travel trough time", can also mean "propagate", and we are told
that it's not about plants.

So what does "propagate" mean, and how would I use that? Does anyone
remember if Okrand said something about it?

One example of the "travel" version shows that vIb is transitive. Would
also work with propagate?

--
Lieven L. Litaer
aka the "Klingon Teacher from Germany"
http://www.klingonisch.de
http://www.klingonwiki.net/Word/VIb
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