allure

See also: alluré and Allüre

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English aluren, from Old French aleurer, alurer, from a (“to, towards”) (Latin ad) leurre (“lure”). Compare lure.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈlʊɚ/, /əˈlɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əˈlʊə/, /əˈljʊə/, /əˈlɔː/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA^(key): /əˈlʉːɹ/
• (Ireland) IPA^(key): /əˈluːɹ/
• Rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ)

Noun

allure (countable and uncountable, plural allures)

1. The power to attract, entice; the quality causing attraction.

Translations

the power to attract, entice; the quality causing attraction

• Bulgarian: привлека́телност (bg) f (privlekátelnost)
• Catalan: atractiu (ca) m, encís (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 誘惑／诱惑 (zh) (yòuhuò)

• Dutch: aantrekkelijkheid (nl)
• Finnish: viehätys (fi), vetovoima (fi)
• French: attirance (fr) f
• Galician: encanto m
• German: Verlockung (de) f, Reiz (de) m, Anziehungskraft (de) f
• Italian: ammaliamento m, fascino (it) m, incanto (it) m, attrazione (it) f, richiamo (it) m
• Japanese: 魅力 (ja) (みりょく, miryoku)
• Norwegian: drag (no) n
• Persian: جذبه (fa) (jazabe)
• Polish: czar (pl), powab (pl)
• Portuguese: encanto (pt) m, atrativo (pt) m
• Russian: привлека́тельность (ru) f (privlekátelʹnostʹ), шарм (ru) m (šarm), очарова́ние (ru) n (očarovánije), обая́ние (ru) n (obajánije), ча́ры (ru) f pl (čáry)
• Spanish: encanto (es) m, fascinación (es) f, atractivo (es) f
• Turkish: cezbetmek (tr)
• Ukrainian: шарм m (šarm), прива́бливість f (pryváblyvistʹ)

Verb

allure (third-person singular simple present allures, present participle alluring, simple past and past participle allured)

1. (transitive) To entice; to attract.
   • 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 31, pages 370–371:

     [They retained] their ſweet skill in wonted melody; / Which euer after they abuſd to ill, / T’allure weake trueillers, whom gotten they did kill.

   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 8, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     Injustice doth allure them; as the honour of their vertuous actions enticeth the good.

   • 1737, R[ichard] Glover, “Book VI”, in Leonidas. A Poem.‎^[1], page 152:

     A tender voice his wondring ear allur'd.

Synonyms

• attract, entice, tempt, decoy, seduce

Translations

to attempt to draw

• Bulgarian: привличам (bg) (privličam), изкушавам (bg) (izkušavam), съблазнявам (bg) (sǎblaznjavam)
• Catalan: atraure (ca), seduir (ca), temptar (ca), abellir (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 引誘／引诱 (zh) (yǐnyòu)

• Danish: lokke
• Dutch: verleiden (nl)
• Finnish: viehättää (fi), houkutella (fi), houkuttaa (fi)
• German: locken (de), verlocken (de)
• Italian: attrarre (it), sedurre (it), incantare (it), ammaliare (it), affascinare (it), intrigare (it)
• Japanese: 魅惑する (ja) (みわくする, miwaku suru)
• Latin: allectō, pelliciō
• Polish: wabić (pl), nęcić (pl), przyciągać (pl)
• Portuguese: atrair (pt)
• Russian: завлека́ть (ru) impf (zavlekátʹ), завле́чь (ru) pf (zavléčʹ), зама́нивать (ru) impf (zamánivatʹ), замани́ть (ru) pf (zamanítʹ), прельща́ть (ru) impf (prelʹščátʹ), прельсти́ть (ru) pf (prelʹstítʹ), соблазня́ть (ru) impf (soblaznjátʹ), соблазни́ть (ru) pf (soblaznítʹ), пленя́ть (ru) impf (plenjátʹ), плени́ть (ru) pf (plenítʹ)
• Spanish: atraer (es), cautivar (es)
• Swedish: locka (sv)

Derived terms

• allurance
• allurement
• allurer
• unallured

 

Related terms

• lure

Etymology 2

From Middle English alure, alour, from Old French alure, aleure (“walk, gait”), from aler (“to go”) ‎ -ure.

Noun

allure (countable and uncountable, plural allures)

1. (dated) Gait; bearing.
   • Harper's Magazine

     The swing, the gait, the pose, the allure of these men.

2. The walkway along the top of a castle wall, sometimes entirely covered and normally behind a parapet; the wall walk.

Alternative forms

• alure

Translations

gait; bearing

• Russian: аллю́р (ru) m (alljúr)

Anagrams

• Laurel, laurel

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from French allure.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɑˈlyː.rə/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: al‧lu‧re
• Rhymes: -yːrə

Noun

allure f (plural allures)

1. air, pretension

Derived terms

• sterallure

French

Etymology

From aller ‎ -ure.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /a.lyʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -yʁ

Noun

allure f (plural allures)

1. appearance, look
2. speed, pace
3. angle of a boat from the wind
4. gait (of a horse)
5. chemin de ronde (raised protected walkway behind a castle battlement)

Derived terms

• à toute allure

Descendants

• → Dutch: allure
• → German: Allüre

Further reading

• “allure”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• la leur