Etymology

allusion

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Today it means: An indirect reference; a hint; a reference to something supposed to be known, but not explicitly mentioned. Full definition →

Latin allūsiō ← Proto-Italic *ad- ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂éd
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂éd
  2. Proto-Italic*ad
  3. Proto-Italic*ad-
  4. Latinad-
  5. Latinlūdō
  6. Latinallūdō
  7. Latinallūsiō
  8. English todayallusion

From Latin allūsiōnem, accusative singular of allūsiō (“the act of playing with”), from allūdō (“play with; allude”), from al-, combining form of ad (“to”), + lūdō (“play”): compare French allusion.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.