Egg someone on

Posted by James Briggs on September 16, 2003

In Reply to: Egg someone on posted by Bob on September 15, 2003

: : Hi! I think I know what this means, but where did the phrase come from? Thank you - Saxon

: It's an Old English word, egge, derived from Old Norse and (eventually) the L**in and G**ek roots acer and acme, meaning sharp and point. Egge meant the sharp edge (also a related word) of a sword blade. If you're going to egg someone on, poking them with a sword will usually prove effectively motivational.

There is another possible root. In this case 'egg' derives from the old English 'eggian' which means 'to spur' or 'to incite', in turn probably derived from the L*tin above