wheedle

English

WOTD – 8 November 2008

Etymology

Uncertain. Perhaps continuing Middle English wedlen (“to beg, ask for alms”), from Old English wǣdlian (“to be poor, be needy, be in want, beg”), from Proto-Germanic *wēþlōną (“to be in need”).

Alternatively (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?), borrowed from German wedeln (“to wag one's tail”), from Middle High German wedelen, a byform of Middle High German wadelen (“to wander, waver, wave, whip, stroke, flutter”), from Old High German wādalōn (“to wander, roam, rove”). In this case, it may be a doublet of waddle, or an independently formed etymological equivalent.

The ⟨wh⟩ spelling (reflecting pronunciations with /ʍ/) is apparently unetymological. (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “What is the origin of the "wh"?”)

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈʍiː.dəl/ (without the wine-whine merger)
• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˈwiː.dəl/ (with the wine-whine merger)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːdəl

Verb

wheedle (third-person singular simple present wheedles, present participle wheedling, simple past and past participle wheedled)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To cajole or attempt to persuade by flattery.

   I’d like one of those, too, if you can wheedle him into telling you where he got it.

   • 1951, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Wife of Bath's Tale”, in Nevill Coghill, transl., The Canterbury Tales: Translated into Modern English (Penguin Classics), Penguin Books, published 1977, page 290:

     Though he had beaten me in every bone / He still could wheedle me to love.

2. (transitive) To obtain by flattery, guile, or trickery.
   • 1700, [William] Congreve, The Way of the World, a Comedy. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act III, scene xviii, page 51:

     If the worſt come to the worſt,—I'll turn my Wife to Graſs—I already have a deed of Settlement of the beſt part of her Eſtate; which I wheadl'd out of her; [...]

Derived terms

• wheedler
• wheedling
• wheedlesome

Translations

cajole

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: přemluvit (cs) pf, přesvěčit pf
• Dutch: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: lirkutella (fi)
• French: please add this translation if you can
• Galician: please add this translation if you can
• German: überreden (de), beschwatzen (de), umschmeicheln (de), schmeicheln (de), herumkriegen
• Hungarian: hízeleg (hu)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Latin: lactō
• Maori: pīnono
• Norwegian: please add this translation if you can
• Romanian: flata (ro), linguși (ro)
• Russian: подли́зываться (ru) impf (podlízyvatʹsja), подлиза́ться (ru) pf (podlizátʹsja), обха́живать (ru) impf (obxáživatʹ), ублажа́ть (ru) impf (ublažátʹ), прельща́ть (ru) impf (prelʹščátʹ)
• Scots: tice
• Spanish: engatusar (es), camelar (es)
• Ukrainian: підлещуватися (pidleščuvatysja), ластитися (lastytysja)
• Welsh: please add this translation if you can

obtain by guile or trickery

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: vymámit, vyloudit pf
• French: please add this translation if you can
• German: abschwatzen (de), abschmeicheln (de), abbetteln (de), abheucheln, erschmeicheln (de), abschwätzen (de), aus dem Kreuz leiern, aus den Rippen leiern
• Italian: ottenere con lusinghe
• Maori: pīnono
• Russian: выма́нивать ле́стью impf (vymánivatʹ léstʹju), вы́манить ле́стью pf (výmanitʹ léstʹju)
• Spanish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: виманювати лестощами (vymanjuvaty lestoščamy)

Noun

wheedle (plural wheedles)

1. (archaic) A coaxing person.

Anagrams

• wheeled