Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRO-PEN'SION, or PRO-PEN'SI-TY, n. [Fr. propension; L. propensio.]

1. Bent of mind, natural or acquired; inclination; in a moral sense; disposition to any thing good or evil, particularly to evil; as, a propensity to sin; the corrupt propensity of the will. – Rogers. It requires critical nicety to find out the genius or propensions of a child. – L'Estrange.
2. Natural tendency; as, the propension of bodies to a particular place. – Digby. [In a moral sense, propensity is now chiefly used.]