iluzie

Forms

iluzie f (plural iluzii)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French illusion and directly borrowed from Latin illūsiō (“mockery; illusion”), as DEX, MDA2 and Tiktin give it.^[2][3][4][1] Ciorănescu names only the Latin word, borrowed in the 19th century,^[5] and the Academy dictionary takes the word after French.^[6] Gabinschi counts it among the European loans of Latin origin, with French, German and Russian иллюзия (illjuzija) as its models.^[7] That noun is formed from Latin illūdō + -tiō, from illūdō (“to make sport of”), a compound of lūdō (“to play”).^[1][8][9] In classical Latin it meant mockery and, as a figure of speech, irony; the sense “illusion, deceit” is Christian Latin.^[10][11]

Earliest recorded meaning

Tiktin records the word from about 1830.^[4] MDA2's first record is in the Uricariul, before 1848: „toate aceste au fost numai o iluzie” “all these were only an illusion”, of the improvements everyone had hoped for.^[3][6] Negulici's dictionary of the same year glosses it “phantasm, apparition, dream” and links it with Latin lūdō.^[12]

Semantic evolution

From a deceptive appearance or error of the senses the word moved to a hope or belief without foundation, the sense of the phrases a-și face iluzii “to deceive oneself, to hope for the impossible” and a-și pierde iluziile “to become disillusioned”.^[6][3][2] Writers of the 19th century used both iluzie and the longer iluziune, which Negruzzi, Eminescu and Odobescu have;^[6][13][2] CADE still entered the word under iluziune in 1931, but the short form won and the long one is now obsolete.^[6][13][2] Psychology uses it for the false perception of an object actually present, as in iluzie optică “optical illusion”.^[2][14]

Timeline

• c. 1830 – the first record Tiktin gives.^[4]
• before 1848 – numai o iluzie “only an illusion” in the Uricariul.^[3][6]
• 1848 – illuzie in Negulici's dictionary of neologisms.^[12]
• 19th century – the longer form iluziune in Negruzzi, Eminescu and Odobescu.^[6][15]
• 1931 – CADE enters the word under iluziune.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A false perception of an object actually present, caused by the way perception works or by a mental or nervous state: iluzie optică “optical illusion”.^[2][14]
2. (figurative) A situation in which an appearance or a fiction is taken for reality.^[2][3]
3. (figurative) A groundless hope, an unfulfilled wish, a chimera: a-și face iluzii “to deceive oneself”, a-și pierde iluziile “to become disillusioned”.^[2][3]

Related words

• iluzoriu
• iluzionist
• iluziona
• aluzie
• eluda

Usage notes

The older variant iluziune is now obsolete.^[2][15]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 491
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 1114
4. ^ a b c Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. ilúzie
5. ^ Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. iluzie
6. ^ a b c d e f g Academia Română (1913–1949), Dicționarul limbii române (DA), ed. Sextil Pușcariu, tom I (A–B, C, D–De) and tom II (F–I, J–Lojniță), București: Socec / Universul / Monitorul Oficial și Imprimeriile Statului; page scans at cflr-scans.solirom.ro, p. s.v. iluzie
7. ^ Gabinschi, Marcu (2001), Dicționar de dublete etimologice ale limbii române, 2nd ed., Chișinău: Litera, p. 113
8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. illūsiō
9. ^ Graur, Alexandru (1980), Cuvinte înrudite, București: Editura Științifică și Enciclopedică, p. 58
10. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. illūsiō
11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ a b Negulici, I. D. (1848), Vocabular romînesc de toate vorbele streine întroduse pînă acum în limba romînească și de toate cuvintele ce s-ar mai putea introduce încă, București
13. ^ a b c Candrea, I.-A.; Adamescu, Gh. (1926–1931), Dicționarul enciclopedic ilustrat „Cartea Românească”, București: Cartea Românească, p. s.v. iluzie
14. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. iluzie
15. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 2, 492