wheedle is of uncertain origin, attested from the mid-17th century. Possibly from German wedeln ('to wag the tail, fawn, flatter'), from Wedel ('fan, tail'), though the connection is disputed. The explanation preserves that uncertainty: the proposed comparisons illuminate the form, but they do not turn the word into a securely traced inheritance or borrowing. In modern use, the verb sense is "to use flattery or coaxing to persuade someone to do something", which keeps the etymology connected to the word's present dictionary value rather than treating it as a merely historical label. The wider word family includes derivatives such as wheedler, wheedling, showing how the same base continues to support neighboring English vocabulary.