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Origin and history of goad

goad(n.)

Old English gad "point, spearhead, arrowhead, pointed stick used for driving cattle," from Proto-Germanic *gaido "goad, spear" (source also of Lombardic gaida "spear"), which is perhaps cognate with Sanskrit hetih "missile, projectile," himsati "he injures;" Avestan zaena- "weapon;" Greek khaios "shepherd's staff;" Old English gar "spear;" Old Irish gae "spear." Figurative use "anything that urges or stimulates" is since 16c., probably from the Bible.

goad(v.)

1570s, from goad (n.); earliest use is figurative, "incite, stimulate, instigate." Literal use by 1610s. Related: Goaded; goading.

also from 1570s

Entries linking to goad

gad(n.)

c. 1300, "a goad, sharp pointed stick to drive oxen, etc.;" c. 1400, "sharp-pointed metal spike," from Old Norse gaddr "spike, nail," from Proto-Germanic *gadaz "pointed stick" (see yard (n.2)). Attested earlier as "metal bar or rod, ingot" (mid-13c.) hence also in Middle English a unit of length in land-measure, varying from 10 to 16 feet. Not related to goad (n.), but perhaps influenced by it in sense.

gar(n.)

pike-like fish, 1765, American English, shortening of garfish (mid-15c.), from fish (n.) + Middle English gare, gore "a spear," from Old English gar "spear," from Proto-Germanic *gaisa- "spear" (source also of Old Norse geirr "spear; point of an anvil," Old Saxon, Old High German ger, German Ger "spear"), from PIE *ghaiso- "a stick, spear" (see goad (n.)). The fish so called for its long sharp snout. Compare Edgar, garlic.

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    Trends of goad

    adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/ with a 7-year moving average; ngrams are probably unreliable.

    More to explore

    spur
    Middle English spore, from Old English spura, spora "spiked metal implement worn on the heel to goad a horse" (related to spurnan "to kick"), from Proto-Germanic *spuron (source also of Old Norse spori, Middle Dutch spore, Dutch spoor, Old High German sporo, German Sporn "spur"),
    prod
    1530s, "to poke with a stick," of uncertain origin; possibly [Barnhart, Century Dictionary] a variant of brod, from Middle English brodden "to goad," from Old Norse broddr "shaft, spike" (see brad), or perhaps imitative [OED]. Compare dialectal prog "pointed instrument for poking
    needle
    Old English nædl "small, pointed instrument for carrying a thread through woven fabric, leather, etc.," from Proto-Germanic *næthlo (source also of Old Saxon nathla, Old Norse nal, Old Frisian nedle, Old High German nadala, German Nadel, Gothic neþla "needle"), literally "a tool
    paroxysm
    paroxysmus "irritation, fit of a disease," from Greek paroxysmos "irritation, exasperation," from paroxynein "to irritate, goad..., provoke," from para- "beyond" (see para- (1)) + oxynein "sharpen, goad," from oxys "sharp, pointed" (from PIE root *ak-...
    stick
    Middle English stiken, from Old English stician "to pierce or puncture, to stab with a weapon; transfix; goad," also "to...This is reconstructed to be from PIE *steig- "to stick; pointed" (source also of Latin instigare "to goad," instinguere "...
    gadfly
    "goad, metal rod," here in the sense of "stinger;" but the sense is entangled with gad (v.)...
    instinct
    participle of instinguere "to incite, impel," from in- "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root *en "in") + stinguere "prick, goad...
    drop
    Middle English drope, from Old English dropa "a small, spherical mass of liquid," from Proto-Germanic *drupon (source also of Old Saxon dropo, Old Norse dropi, Dutch drop, Old High German tropfo, German Tropfen (n.)); see drop (v.). Sense of "minute quantity of anything, least po
    harry
    Old English hergian "make war, lay waste, ravage, plunder," the word used in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for what the Vikings did to England, from Proto-Germanic *harjon (source also of Old Frisian urheria "lay waste, ravage, plunder," Old Norse herja "to make a raid, to plunder,"
    dag
    several words, probably unrelated, including: 1. "pendant point of cloth on a garment," late 14c., of uncertain origin; 2. "thin rain, drizzle, wet fog," Scottish, late 17c., from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse dögg, plural daggir "dew," from Proto-Germanic *daowo- (sour

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