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Adulation Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Adulatiion is from the Latin word adulatio means "flattery." It's made up of the roots ad ("to") and ulos ("tail"), and if you're thinking of a dog wagging its tail to and fro to get a treat from its owner, you're on the right track, because adulationem (nominative adulatio) "is a fawning; flattery, cringing courtesy.  That was then passed along to Old French adulacion and became adulatiion in late Middle English.  

The earliest known use of the noun adulation is in the Middle English period (1150—1500). OED's earliest evidence for adulation is from around 1400, in Book to Mother.