wheedle

The story

1. Old High German · derived fromwādalōn“to wander, roam, rove”
2. Middle High German · derived fromwedelen
3. German · borrowed fromwedeln“to wag one's tail”
4. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*wēþlōną“to be in need”
5. Old English · inherited fromwǣdlian“to be poor, be needy, be in want, beg”
6. Middle English · inherited fromwedlen“to beg, ask for alms”
7. English todaywheedle

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 , 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.

Words from the same roots