Hello,
These week I’ve investigated the etymology of ludicrous. Along the way, as often happens, I veered off course to check out ludo as well. That’s the problem with the history of words, you can easily be distracted into side alleys.
Ludicrous is one the Romans gave us but it didn’t land in English until the early 1600s when it had a different, and now dead, meaning – relating to play or sport. It arrived via Old French ludicre (sportive), Latin ludicrus (same meaning) and ludicrum (a game, toy, or joke), all of which are rooted in the Latin verb ludere (to play).
Both ludere and ludus (a game) come back to the root word loid (to play) which provides similar words in Middle Irish, Greek, Albanian, Lithuanian and Latvian (although a couple of those are linked more to giving birth than to playing and I really cannot fathom that link!).
Clearly ludicrous’ meaning changed over time. Its modern meaning of something being ridiculous or open to provoking ridicule dates to the late 1700s. The Latin verb ludere (to play) also gave rise to other English words, allude and allusion, via French again (alluder) which in the early 1500s had an original meaning in English of mocking or making a joke. The modern meaning of making a passing reference wasn’t too long in arriving though and is the one which lasted.
It was at this point that I had a light-bulb moment and wondered if the popular board-game ludo might be related to all these playful Latin verbs too.
Ludo is a board game for 2-4 players where players race to get their four tokens from start to finish according to dice rolls. Its simple rules made it very popular in my house when my children were younger and the random chance from the dice meant adults, older siblings and younger children all have a fair chance to win. Nowadays you’re more likely to find us playing Monopoly, Cluedo, or card games.
Ludo has been the game’s name in England since the late 1800s but you may know it under a different name such as uckers or parchisi. Parchisi originated in India in the 6th century, there are even cave paintings of people playing it. This is another word derived from the Latin verb ludere (to play) as it literally means “I play”. However I didn’t find any evidence of the Romans playing ludo. They did, however, enjoy board games and strategic games, as explored here.
Until next time happy reading, writing, and wordfooling,
Grace (@Wordfoolery)
Wordfoolery 