Wordwyrt

allude

/əˈluːd/uh-LOOD
/əˈlud/uh-LOOD

Meaningto play at; to hint

Common meaning: to refer to indirectly

‘to, towards (form of ad-)’ + ‘to play, mock’ → allude

Journey through time

  1. Latinlūdō, lūsum‘to play, mock’
  2. Englishallude‘to refer to indirectly’ · today

al- also in: allyalarmallocatealleviate

lud also in: deludepreludeillusion

Sources & notes

Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.

Pronunciation

  • UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
  • No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
  • US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
  • No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.

Origin: Built on Latin lūdō ‘to play, mock’.

Did you know: our wording, based on Lewis & Short, Latin Dictionary (1879), entry lūdō, p. 1083 · dictionary scan

Roots

Related words

deludeillusionprelude

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