push (v.) Copy link Outline I. Orig. sense (= Fr. pousser, fr. Lat. pulso), to thrust at or away, usu. with a weapon (as, "push with biting point," Dryden), esp. of an animal pushing with its horns. pĕto, īvi and ĭi, ītum, 3II. To (or try to) move or remove by force, lit. and fig.1. Comps. of pello2. in this sense, less freq. simple verb pello, 3 oftener rather to beat at, knock at, batter3. trūdo si sum, 3 (thrust4. mŏveo, mōvi, mōtum, 2. oftener, submoveo, 25. mōlĭor, 4, dep. (p. away, remove by a strong effort)6. urgeo, ursi, 2 (to press close upon, thrust, jostle)III. To advance with effort, in phr. to push one's way • push (v.): I. Orig. sense (= Fr. pousser, fr. Lat. pulso), to thrust at or away, usu. with a weapon (as, "push with biting point," Dryden), esp. of an animal pushing with its horns. pĕto, īvi and ĭi, ītum, 3: cf. Ov. 5, 185, Pectora Lyncidae gladio petit (p.s or thrusts at): to p. with the horn (of a steer or ram), cornu petere, Virg. E. 3, 87 (cf. id. G. 3, 526, Inter se adversis luctantur cornibus haedi): v. TO thrust, butt. (N.B.--Also late Lat. [esp. Vulg.] ventĭlo, ventĭlor, 1; to wave in the air; hence, to toss about: with these [horns] shalt thou p. Syria, his ventilabis Syriam, Vulg. 3 Reg. xxii. 11: and absol., I saw a ram p.ing, vidi arietem cornibus ventilantem, id. Dan. viii. 4.) II. To (or try to) move or remove by force, lit. and fig.: for derived senses see examples: 1. Comps. of pello: (1). impello, pŭli, sum, 3: push in or on cf. Virg. Aen. 5, 119, triplici pubes quam (navem) Dardana versu impellunt (p. through the water): we loosened (the tower) and p.'d it over, convellimus [altis sedibus] impulimusque, Virg. Aen. 2, 464: to p. (thrust) in a sword to its hilt, ferrum capulo tenus imp., Sil. 9, 328: to p. (or give a push to) a falling person, imp. ruentem, Tac. H. 2, 63 (fig. cf. Cic. Clu. 26, 70, praecipitantem igitur impellamus et perditum prosternamus): to p. on (to a certain course), in fraudem, id. Pis. 1, 1; ad bellum, id. Sull. 13, 36: the mind is p.'d one way or the other by a slight impulse (or p.), animus paulo momento huc illuc impellitur, Ter. And. 1, 5, 31: p.'d on by rage and madness, furore atque amentia impulsus, Caes. B. G. 1, 40. (N.B.--Such is the use of our best writers: for other exs. v. impel.) (2). prōpello, 3 (p. forward, forth, or away): cf. hastam p., Sil. 16, 571: to p. forward and dislodge the enemy, p. ac submovere hostes, Caes. B. G. 4, 25: p. out head foremost, praecipem [= praecipitem] p., Pl. Rud. 3, 3, 8: p.'d down from the cliff into the sea, inque profundum propulit e scopulo, Ov. M. 8, 593. Fig.: to p. forward one's crude efforts before the public (stronger than put forward), cruda studia in forum, prop., Petr. 4. (3). expello (p. out or away): p. (or p. down) the ships from the shore into the sea, ab litore naves in altum exp., Liv. 41, 3. Prov.: p. out Nature with a pitchfork, and back she keeps coming again, Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret, Hor. Ep. 1, 10, 24: with abl. domo, Cic. in Pis. 7, 16; agris, Caes. B. G. 4, 4; civitate, Cic. Att. 10, 4: v. TO DRIVE OUT OR AWAY, expel. (4). rĕpello (p. back or away): cf. nostros repellit ab castris, Caes. B. C. 1, 75: to p. away the tables, mensas rep., Ov. M. 6, 661: to p. back the bolts, repagula rep., ib. 2, 157: to p. back the diadem (as a sign of refusal), diadema rep., Vell. 2, 56, fin. 2. in this sense, less freq. simple verb pello, 3 oftener rather to beat at, knock at, batter: he will be p.'d out of doors, pelletur foras, Ter. Eun. 5, 8, 11: the enemy are p.'d back, pelluntur hostes, Caes. B. G. 7, 62 (cf. drive, knock). Freq. pulso, 1 (the source of the Eng. word): to p. (batter) the walls with the ram, pulsare ariete muros, Virg. Aen. 12, 706. 3. trūdo si sum, 3 (thrust: nearest to vulgar sense of push) to be pulled and p.'d at once, et trahi et trudi simul, Pl. Capt. 3, 5, 92: when rivers p. on the ice, glaciem quum flumina trudunt, Virg. G. 1, 310. p.ing in vain against a mountain, frustra oppositum trudentes pectore montem, ib. 3. 373 Join trudere atque impellere, Lucr. 6, 1031 Fig.: day p.s on day (i. e. presses hard upon), dies truditur die, Hor. Od. 2, 18, 15 (cf. Ter. Andr. 4, 4, 40); we p. one another on to sins, in vitia alter alterum trudimus, Sen. Ep. 41, 5: to p. a coward into battle, inertem in proelia tr., Hor. Epod. 1, 5, 17. Of plants shooting. the vine p.s forth buds, (pampinus) trudit gemmas, Virg. G. 2, 335. The pass. is used as refl.: cf. truditur (pushes out) e sicco radix oleagina ligno, ib. 2, 31. (N.B.--Prōmo is also used in this sense, Col. 3, 12.) Comp. prōtrūdo (p. forward, forth, out): to p. a roller, prot. cylindrum, Cic. Fat. 19, 43: and so the whole mass is gradually p.'d forward and set in motion, atque ita tota paullatim moles protruditur atque movetur, Lucr. 4, 891-2: to be p.'d out of doors, protrudi penatibus, Amm. 29, 1. 4. mŏveo, mōvi, mōtum, 2. oftener, submoveo, 2: v. to dislodge, eject: to p. the enemy from his position, hostem statu m., Liv. 30, 18. to p. any one into war, m. aliquem ad bellum, Liv. 35, 12. (also used of plants shooting) if the buds don't p. yet, si se gemmae nondum moveant, Col. 11, 2. and in pass., a bud p.s, de palmite gemma movetur, Ov. Tr. 3, 12, 13. Comp. prōmŏveo (p. forward): loads, onera, Col. 11, 1: stones with wedges, saxa vectibus, Caes. B. C. 2, 11: esp. of military movements: castra, Caes. B. G. 1, 48: legiones, Hirt. B. G. 8, 16 scalas et machinamenta, Tac. A. 15, 4, fin.: castra ad Carthaginem, Liv. 28, 44, fin. 5. mōlĭor, 4, dep. (p. away, remove by a strong effort): it was not easy to p. aside the obstacles in their way, neque moliri onera objecta facile erat, Liv. 25, 36 cf. id. 9, 3, num montes moliri sede sua paramus? like "Waters had pushed a mountain from its seat," Milton. 6. urgeo, ursi, 2 (to press close upon, thrust, jostle): you are p.'d by the crowd about you, urgeris turba circum te stante, Hor. S. 1, 3, 135: she (the witch) p.s fine needles into the liver, tenues in jecur urget acus, Ov. Her. 6, 91-2 cf. Aut petis aut urges ruiturum Sisyphe, saxum (Whether you hurl or push the stone, it's sure to fall again), id. M. 4, 460. Join: impello et urgeo Wave drives on wave (prest forward by the wind), Each pushes that before, is pushed by that behind, unda impellitur unda, Urgeturque prior veniente, urgetque priorem, ib. 15, 182: the infantry p. (the enemy) in front, eos a fronte urgere pedites, Liv. 10, 36 (cf. Caes. B. G. 2, 26): to p. (or p. hard) in an argument: urgent tamen et nihil remittunt, Cic. Fin. 4, 28, 77: to be hard p.'d with questions, interrogando urgeri, based on id. Or. 40, 137. III. To advance with effort, in phr. to push one's way: expr. by perrumpo, rūpi, ptum, 3: to p. its way through a marsh (of an army), paludem p., Caes. B. G. 7, 19: Tac. Phr.: if they should attempt to p. their way across in spite of him, si se invito transire conarentur, ib. 1, 8: also, iter tentare per provinciam, ib. 1, 14. Sometimes, contendere, iter facere, may serve: v. to push on.