Etymologically
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illusion

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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
  • 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