English
delusion
Delusion comes from Latin dēlūsiō ‘a deceiving, deluding, a delusion’, and goes back to lūdō ‘to play’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūdō‘to play’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlūdō‘to deceive or dupe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlūsiō‘a deceiving, deluding, a delusion’
- Englishearliest quotation 1960delusion
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElūdō‘to play’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlūdō‘to deceive or dupe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEdēlūsiō‘a deceiving, deluding, a delusion’
- Englishearliest quotation 1960delusion
Earliest quotation: 1960, William L. Shirer, New York: Simon & Schuster: “Hess, always a muddled man though not so doltish…”
Linked words
through Latin lūdō ‘to play’
illusion, ludicrous, interlude, prelude, elusive, collusion, allude, elude, collude, allusive, 17 more
through Latin dēlūdō ‘to deceive or dupe’
Today it means
noun An adamant belief in a falsehood despite incontestable evidence.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin lūdō / delusion