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eludo

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word eludo

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*loid-)

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [eːˈɫuː.doː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [eˈluː.do][1]

Forms

ēlūdō (present infinitive ēlūdere, perfect active ēlūsī, supine ēlūsum); third conjugation[1]

Etymology

It is formed from ex- (“out”) and lūdō (“to play”).[2][3][4] De Vaan derives ⟨lūdō⟩ from Proto-Italic *loid-e/o- (“to play”) and Proto-Indo-European *loid- (“to let go often, play”), cognate with Ancient Greek λίζει (lízei, “plays”) in Hesychius and Lithuanian léisti (“to let”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Plautus has the ring “that this parasite tricked you out of” in the Curculio;[2] in Terence a slave sees his best chance to fool the old men.[2]

Semantic evolution

It is to trick or fool, and to get something from someone by a trick.[2][6] It is to dodge or escape weapons or pursuers by a feint, as Caesar's Massilians who trusted in the speed of their ships, and in the gladiators' language to parry a blow;[2][6][1] it is also to foil the expectations of others, as in Livy.[2] Figuratively it is to parry an awkward remark, as Horace's Aristippus with the biting Cynic, to evade punishment or a law, and to frustrate hopes.[2] It is to mock or make game of, as Cicero's “you are laughed at by him and you laugh at him in turn”.[2][6][1]

Cicero uses it once intransitively of the sea that “plays” on the shore.[6][1] English elude in the 1530s first meant to delude or make a fool of.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus of a ring got by a trick.[2][7]
  • 190–159 BC – Terence of fooling the old men.[2][7]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero of mockery and of the sea on the shore.[2][6][7]
  • c. 50 BC – Caesar of escaping by speed.[2][7]
  • 1530s – Borrowed into English as elude.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To Deceive, trick, fool; to get by trickery.[2][6][1]
  2. To dodge, elude, escape;[2][6][1] (gladiators) to parry; to foil.[2][6][1]
  3. To parry (a remark); to evade (punishment, a law); to frustrate.[2][1]
  4. To mock, ridicule.[2][6][1]
  5. (intransitive) To behave outrageously;[2][6] (of the sea) to play on the shore.[2][6]

Word family

  • ēlūsiō
  • ēlūsor
  • ablūdō
  • allūdō
  • collūdō
  • dēlūdō
  • illūdo
  • interlūdō
  • lūdō
  • praelūdō
  • prōlūdō
  • lūdus
  • English elude

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Eludo.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/eludo. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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