A pointed stick used to drive cattle, or to provoke or annoy someone into action.
From Old English 'gad' meaning pointed object or spike, related to Old Norse 'gaddr' meaning spike. Originally literal (the tool), it extended metaphorically in the 13th century to mean provocation or motivation.
A goad is a tool that forces animals forward by creating discomfort, and we still use it as a metaphor for motivation—but it reveals an uncomfortable truth: humans historically believed both animals and people needed physical or emotional pain to move them, which shaped how we thought about incentives and leadership.
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