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# The Good Oil Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-good-oil-word-of-the-day-508/
- Published: 2026-01-01T17:15:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-01-01T17:15:03.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: General, Word of the Day

The word for today is…

cajole (verb) -

1a: to persuade with flattery or gentle urging especially in the face of reluctance : coax  
b: to obtain from someone by gentle persuasion  
2: to deceive with soothing words or false promises

Source : [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cajole?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : However hard we try, we can’t cajole the full history of cajole from the cages of obscurity. We know that it comes from the French verb cajoler, meaning “to give much attention to; to make a fuss over; to flatter or persuade with flattery,” and goes back to the Middle French cajoller, meaning “to flatter out of self-interest.” But the next chapter of the word’s history may, or may not, be for the birds: it’s possible that cajoller relates to the Middle French verb cageoller, used for the action of a jay or other bird singing. Cageoller, in turn, traces back to gaiole, a word meaning “birdcage” in a dialect of Picardy.

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