Where did palms being greased originate from?

To grease someone's palm, a phrase that dates from the early 16th century, is to bribe them. The metaphor comes from the idea of applying grease to a machine to make it run smoothly. Click to expand... —Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins. Olinguito, Jan 30, 2014. read more

Grease a palm: > Origin: 16th Century, British English - This expression is almost proverbial in English because it has been in continuous use since it was first coined almost 500 years ago. read more

To grease someone’s palm, a phrase that dates from the early 16th century, is to bribe them. The metaphor comes from the idea of applying grease to a machine to make it run smoothly. read more