Meaning

noun a verbalization that encourages you to attempt something

noun a pointed instrument that is used to prod into a state of motion

verb to push against gently

originAlteration of earlier brod (perhaps through influence of poke; compare prog), from Middle English brodden (“to goad, incite, urge; to sprout”), from brod (“goad, nail; shoot, sprout”), from Old Norse broddr (“shaft, spike, thorn”), from Proto-Germanic *bruzdaz. Cognate with Icelandic broddur, Danish brod. Doublet of brad. Or, from or influenced by sound symbolism.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0