egg on

Etymology

The verb in it is inherited from Middle English eggen (“to urge on, incite”),^[1][2][3] borrowed from Old Norse eggja (“to goad on, incite”),^[4][5][6][2] from egg (“edge”),^[4][3][7][8] and so related to edge.^[9][6] The OED gives the Scandinavian cognates Swedish egga and Danish ægge, usually meaning to encourage or incite and rarely to sharpen.^[9] The Old Norse noun is from Proto-Germanic *agjō (“edge, blade”),^[10][11] from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ek- (“sharp”).^[10] An earlier borrowing of the same verb is the isolated Old English geeggian, in the Northumbrian dialect, used in the Lindisfarne Gospels for the priests stirring up the crowd (Mark 15:11).^[9][12] Weekley notes that the Norse verb replaced its native cognate, the verb edge, in the same sense,^[13] and Ayto points out that the verb is older in English than the noun egg, a separate Norse borrowing.^[6] Partridge glosses the Norse verb literally as to put an edge on.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

To urge or incite a person to do something: about 1175, in the Ormulum,^[9] probably before 1200 in Barnhart, who cites the Ancrene Riwle;^[7] Etymonline dates it to about 1200.^[4] The construction with on is first recorded in 1566, in Thomas Drant's translation of Horace.^[9]

Semantic evolution

In Middle English the verb meant to urge someone on, to tempt or lure someone into evil, and to encourage or exhort.^[1] It often implied something better left undone.^[9] From the 17th century it was usually followed by on;^[9] SOED says it now always is.^[5] Later the phrase took on the idea of urging someone to keep going or to finish what they started.^[9] A Middle English sense "to anger, irritate" was used from before 1382 to 1500,^[9] and egg forward was used from 1509 to 1872.^[9] North's Plutarch has edge on in the same sense, "Cassius did edge him on the more".^[13] In American slang egg alone has meant to tease or make fun of someone (1933).^[14] The verb is unrelated to the later verb egg, to cover with eggs (1808) or to pelt with eggs (1857).^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1175 – eggen, to urge or incite someone to do something.^[9]
• before 1382 – to anger or irritate (obsolete by 1500).^[9]
• 1509 – egg forward (obsolete by 1872).^[9]
• 1566 – egg on, to urge on.^[9]

Meanings

Verb

1. To urge or goad someone on to do something, often something rash or unwise; to incite or encourage: His friends egged him on to jump from the bridge.^[3][5][9]

Related words

• edge
• egg

References

1. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
2. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
7. ^ a b Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
8. ^ a b Partridge, Eric (1966), Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, 4th ed., London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill
11. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill
12. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
14. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com