"servile or insincere praise," late 14c., from Old French adulacion, from Latin adulationem (nominative adulatio) "a fawning; flattery, cringing courtesy," noun of action from past-participle stem of adulari "to flatter, fawn upon."
This is usually said to be from ad "to" (see ad-) + a stem meaning "tail," from a PIE *ul- "the tail" (source also of Sanskrit valah "tail-hair," and Lithuanian valai "horse's tail"). The original notion would be "to wag the tail" like a fawning dog (compare Greek sainein "to wag the tail," also "to flatter;" also see wheedle).
But de Vaan finds phonetic problems with these and concludes the etymology is uncertain, though he proposes a connection with avidus "eager," via *adulo- "who is eager toward something," hence "a flatterer." Adulation may proceed from true blind worship or be insincere, from hope of advantage.
rock resembling sandstone, 1803, from German Wacke, from Middle High German wacke "large stone, rock projecting from the surface of the ground," from Old High German wacko, waggo "gravel, pebble, rock rolling in a riverbed," which probably is from Old High German wegan "to move" (from Proto-Germanic *wag- "to move about," from PIE root *wegh- "to go, move"). A miner's word, brought into geology by German geologist Abraham Gottlob Werner (1750-1817).
The "hand motion" meaning is recorded from 1680s; meaning "undulating line" is recorded from 1660s. Of people in masses, first recorded 1852; in physics, from 1832. Sense in heat wave is from 1843. The crowd stunt in stadiums is attested under this name from 1984, the thing itself said to have been done first Oct. 15, 1981, at the Yankees-A's AL championship series game in the Oakland Coliseum; soon picked up and popularized at University of Washington. To make waves "cause trouble" is attested from 1962.
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to turn, vacillate, tremble ecstatically."
It forms all or part of: gimlet; gimp (n.2) "ornamental trimming material;" vibrant; vibrate; vibration; vibrato; vibrissa; waif; waive; waiver; whip; wimple; wipe.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin vibrare "set in tremulous motion, move quickly to and fro, quiver, tremble, shake," Lithuanian vyburti "to wag" (the tail), Danish vippe, Dutch wippen "to swing," Old English wipan "to wipe."
"four-wheeled vehicle to carry heavy loads," late 15c., from Middle Dutch wagen, waghen, from Proto-Germanic *wagna- (source also of Old English wægn, Modern English wain, Old Saxon and Old High German wagan, Old Norse vagn, Old Frisian wein, German Wagen), from PIE *wogh-no-, suffixed form of root *wegh- "to go, move, transport in a vehicle" (source also of Latin vehiculum). It is thus related to way.
In Dutch and German, it is the general word for "a wheel vehicle;" its use in English is a result of contact through Flemish immigration, Dutch trade, or the Continental wars. It has largely displaced the native cognate, wain. Spelling preference varied randomly between -g- and -gg- from mid-18c., until American English settled on the etymological wagon, while waggon remained common in Great Britain. Wagon-train is attested from 1810. Phrase on the wagon "abstaining from alcohol" is attested by 1904, originally on the water cart.
