blandish

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 19, 2014 is: blandish • \BLAN-dish\  • verb 1 : to coax or persuade with flattery : cajole 2 : to act or speak in a flattering or coaxing manner Examples: Some of Tim's coworkers even managed to blandish him into doing their work for them by complimenting him shamelessly. "Glennan believed a presidential statement would help to gain initiative against Congress and the media, and he repeatedly blandished Eisenhower to make a greater public relations effort." - Yanek Mieczkowski, Eisenhower's Sputnik Moment, 2013 Did you know? The word "blandish" has been a part of the English language since at least the 14th century with virtually no change in its meaning. It ultimately derives from "blandus," a Latin word meaning "mild" or "flattering." One of the earliest known uses of "blandish" can be found in the sacred writings of Richard Rolle de Hampole, an English hermit and mystic, who cautioned against "the dragon that blandishes with the head and smites with the tail." Although "blandish" might not exactly be suggestive of dullness, it was the "mild" sense of "blandus" that gave us our adjective "bland," which has a lesser-known sense meaning "smooth and soothing in manner or quality." See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.