cajoler

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ka.ʒɔ.le/^[1]

Forms

cajoler^[1] Cageoler (1579, until 1771), cajoler^[2][3]; Féraud (1768) notes that some write cageoler.^[2][3]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[2] It is usually explained as an adaptation, under the influence of cage, of Middle French gayoler (“to chatter like a caged bird”) (1525),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} derived from gaiole (“cage”), the Picard form of geôle,^[2][3][4] from Late Latin caveola, a diminutive of Latin cavea (“cage”);^[4][7][1][8] its sense was influenced by enjôler “to lure into a cage with flattering song”.^[2][3][5]

Other scholars separate “cajoler” “to chatter” from “cajoler” “to flatter”, deriving the first from the name “Jacques” given to the magpie in some dialects or from the root of cacarder, and the second from a crossing of “enjôler” and caresser; the TLFi and Rey prefer the single explanation.^[2][3] Littré, citing Walloon “crajolé” “variegated”, also mentions Grandgagnage's link with the root of joli.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ambroise Paré (1579) writes that jays cageollent, crying as birds do^[2][9]; Jean Le Houx uses cajoler for singing a vau de vire, a drinking song.^[2][9]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to cry like a jay or magpie” lasted until 1675 and was later kept as a term of falconry (1752).^[2][3] Transferred to people, cajoler meant to flatter with honeyed words to get something (1585), and in the 17th century to pay court to a woman (1637, Corneille).^[2][3][7]

From the end of the 16th century (1596) the verb is transitive, and its sense has slid from “to win over by flattery” to “to surround with tender attention”, without any idea of self-interest: one now cajole a child.^[3][10] Sailors used it for working a ship against the wind with the help of a current.^[9]

Timeline

• 1525 – Middle French gayoler.^[2][3]
• 1579 – Cageoller, of a jay (Paré).^[2][3]
• 1585 – “To flatter”^[2][3]; cajolleuse.^[2][3]
• 1596 – Transitive use.^[2][4]
• 1637 – “To exchange gallant talk” (Corneille).^[2][3]
• 1752 – A falconry term (Trévoux).^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To cuddle, to treat someone with tender, loving attention: cajoler un enfant.^[10][1]
2. (dated) To flatter, to cajole.^[1][7]
3. (intransitive, dated) Of a jay or magpie, to chatter.^[2][9]

Word family

• cajolerie
• cajoleur

Related words

• geôle
• cage
• enjôler
• English cajole

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 555a
9. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert