All 4 Uses of
coax
in
Wuthering Heights
- The little monkey had crept by the skylight of one garret, along the roof, into the skylight of the other, and it was with the utmost difficulty I could coax her out again.†
Chpt 7 *
- I attempted to persuade him of the naughtiness of showing reluctance to meet his father; still he obstinately resisted any progress towards dressing, and I had to call for my master's assistance in coaxing him out of bed.†
Chpt 20coaxing = trying to obtain a result through gentle and careful effort -- often gently persuading
- And he'll soon do as I direct him, with some slight coaxing.†
Chpt 23
- He had bequeathed the whole of his, and what had been her, moveable property, to his father: the poor creature was threatened, or coaxed, into that act during her week's absence, when his uncle died.†
Chpt 30coaxed = tried to obtain a result through gentle and careful effort -- often gently persuaded
Definitions:
-
(1)
(coax as in: coax her to join us) try to obtain a result through gentle and careful effort -- often gentle persuasion
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Less commonly, coax is a short for coaxial cable (a type of electrical cable used to transmit data, the internet, video and voice communications). Coaxial cables have a conducting wire surrounded by an insulating layer surrounded by a shield. The insulating layer and shield surround a common axis--the conducting wire.
In classic literature, you may see coax used as a synonym for caress or fondle.