"Grease someone's palm" Etymology / Origin?

garbonzo

Registered Senior Member
Where did the phrase "to grease someone's palm" come from, as in, to bribe someone or pay them off?
 
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.
Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins
 
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