illusion

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɪˈluː.ʒən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English illusioun, borrowed from Old French illusion (“a mocking, deceit”),^[2][3][4] from Latin illūsiō (“a mocking, jesting, irony”), from illūdō (“to mock at”), literally “to play with”, from in- (“at, upon”) and lūdō (“to play”) (see ludicrous).^[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mockery or derision: about 1350 in Barnhart, the mid-14th century in Etymonline, 1382 in the OED.^[2][3][6] The OED also has the deceiving of the eye by a false appearance from about 1340.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The sense of a deceptive appearance developed in Church Latin.^[3] It is in Chaucer's House of Fame, about 1380,^[2] and a thing that deceives is from about 1374.^[6] Being deluded by appearances is from 1571,^[6] and a false perception of an external object from 1774.^[6][4] The chief modern sense, a false idea or belief, dates from the late 18th century.^[5] A thin transparent tulle was called illusion from 1857,^[6] and philosophers' argument from illusion is from 1932.^[6] Illusory is from before 1631, in Donne, and illusive from 1679.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1340 – deceiving the eye.^[6]
• c. 1350 – mockery.^[2]
• before 1631 – illusory.^[2]
• 1774 – a false perception.^[6]
• 1857 – a fine tulle.^[6]
• 1932 – the argument from illusion.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A false appearance or deceptive impression: an illusion of depth.
2. A false or mistaken belief; a delusion.
3. (psychology) A perception altered in the mind of the perceiver so that it does not match reality.
4. A very fine gauze or tulle.

Word family

• illusional
• illusionless
• illusioned
• disillusion
• illusionary
• illusionism
• illusionist
• illusory

Related words

• delusion
• ludicrous
• allude
• elude
• prelude

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press