coax \KOAKS\ verb
1 : to influence or gently urge by caressing or flattering
2 : to draw, gain, or persuade by means of gentle urging
*3 : to manipulate with great perseverance and usually with considerable effort toward a desired state or activity
in finding the balance point:
Example sentence:
Each stone has its balance point, but finding the centering for each, in creating the cairn,? takes a measure of coaxing; and the arrogance of the foolishly inclined; for in the end, it all falls down.?
Etymology?
In the days of yore, if you made a “cokes” of someone, you made a fool of them. “Cokes” ? a now-obsolete word for “fool” ? is believed to be the source of our verb “coax,” which was first used in the 16th century (with the spelling “cokes”) to mean “to make a fool of.” Soon, the verb also took on the kinder meaning of “to make a pet of.” As might be expected, the act of cokesing was sometimes done for personal gain. By the 17th century, the word was being used in today’s senses that refer to influencing or persuading people by kind acts or words. By the early 19th century, the spelling “cokes” had fallen out of use, along with the meanings “to make a fool of” and “to make a pet of.”
Wishingwell:
tsg | nyc
—-
Merapi Volcano / Solo side / Java | Indonesian Republic