It's the Word of the Day podcast for January 10th.
Today's word is collude, spelled C-O-L-L-U-D-E.
Collude is a verb.
To collude is to work with others secretly,
especially in order to do something illegal or dishonest.
Collude is used as a synonym of the words conspire and plot.
Here's the word used in a sentence from the LA Times.
Two lawsuits filed in April accuse hundreds of insurers of colluding to drop policy holders and force them onto the plan,
which offers limited policies that typically cost more.
Colluding, working secretly with others to do something deceitful or illegal, is not a game.
but you'd never know it if you took your cues on the meaning of collude solely from its etymology.
Collude comes from the Latin verb colludere, which in turn combines the prefix calm,
meaning together, and the verb ludere, meaning to play.
Ludere in turn comes from ludus, meaning game, play, or sport.
Ludus is also the source of the adjective ludicrous and the noun interlude.
Collude has a related noun, collusion,
which carries the specific meaning, secret agreement, or cooperation.
Despite their playful history,
collude and collusion have always suggested illicit trickery rather than good-natured fun.
With your Word of the Day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.