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Propaganda

History of a Word

Bibliographic Data

ID8727979
AuthorsErwin W Fellows (corresponding author)
Year1959
Volume34
Issue3
Pages182-182
Publication date1959-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Speech (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0003-1283 • E-ISSN: 1527-2133
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/454039
OpenAlexW2323328284
LanguageEN
Citations received8

C HANGES IN THE MEANING attached to a word may be associated with ideological and cultural changes. The history of the word propaganda is a striking example. This paper sketches a portion of that history. Until the sixteenth century, propaganda (with related forms) was a Latin term used only in a biological frame of reference, referring to the reproduction of plants and animals. Pope Gregory XIII (S572-85) established a commission of three cardinals de propaganda fide, to spread Catholic doctrines in nonChristian lands. In I62t, Gregory XV established a more formal organization, the sacred congregation de propaganda fide. And in i627, Urban VIII set up a collegium de propaganda to train missionaries.1 The Latin word, as William Fletcher puts it, signifies 'which ought to be propagated and modifies much as our may modify bus, in a sight-seeing bus. '2 The grammatical analogy may not be strictly accurate, but is indicative of the context in which the word was used. The first use of the word propaganda.in English apparently occurred in 17 18.3 It was then used in the religious frame of reference which has been described. Perhaps it is significant, as at least one writer has suggested, that the English word was associated from the first with doctrines based on faith rather than on reason.4

Linguistics · Word (group theory · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy

  • Era bom que trocássemos umas ideias sobre o assunto”

    Open Access•ESCS-IPL ESCS-IPL, Pedro Mendonça et al.•Estudos em Comunicação•2018

  • Conceptual Evolution and Paradigm Reconstruction

    Hu Zhengronga, Jing Jiayib•Social Sciences in China•2024

  • Radio as Propaganda

    Open Access•Evans Ntshengedzeni Netshivhambe•African Journalism Studies•2025

  • The Berlin Newspaper Der Panzerbär , April 1945

    Joseph Gibbs•Media History•2008

  • Reluctant liars? Public debates on propaganda and democracy in twentieth-century Britain (ca. 1914–1950)

    Helena González Fernández, Hugo Garcia•Contemporary British History•2019

  • Capitalism in the classroom

    Open Access•Rachelle F Marshall•Thesis Eleven•2026

  • The rise and fall of ‘propaganda’ as a positive concept

    Open Access•Johan Jarlbrink, Fredrik Norén•Scandinavian Journal of History•2022

  • From Propaganda to the Denial of Free Speech

    Marcin Polkowski•Dutch Crossing•2020

Unique citing works8
Citations per year0,44
Citation span2008 - 2026 (19)
Citation velocitycurrent
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 7

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