Forms: 4 collucione, 5–6 col(l)usyone, -owne, -ion, 6 col(l)ucion, -sioun, 6– collusion. [a. F. collusion, ad. L. collūsiōn-em a playing together, or into each other’s hands, n. of action f. collūdĕre (see COLLUDE). The lit. meaning ‘a playing together’ in Blount, Glossogr. (1656) is not instanced in Lat. or Eng.]
1. gen. Secret agreement or understanding for purposes of trickery or fraud; underhand scheming or working with another; deceit, fraud, trickery.
c. 1397. Chaucer, Lack Stedf., 11. Yf he can by sume collucione [v.r. -usyon(e] Do his neyghtboure wronge.
1494. Fabyan, VII. 513. Without collusyon or fraude.
1568. Grafton, Chron., II. 634. Let us now leave the cloked collusion, that remayned in Fraunce, and returne to the open dissimulacion, which now appered in England.
1639. Fuller, Holy War, IV. xv. (1840), 204. But for the collusion of the false Templars and Hospitallers with the infidels.
1702. W. J., trans. Bruyn’s Voy. Levant, xli. 165. Two persons … who have … given us a Relation each of them apart, too much different from one another to suspect them of any Collusion.
1846. Prescott, Ferd. & Is., I. vii. 328. A cross examination, which can best expose error or wilful collusion in the evidence.
b. concr. with pl.
1579. Lyly, Euphues (Arb.), 116. Wee are blinded with the collusions of woemen.
1690. Boyle, Chr. Virtuoso, I. 83. The subtil Cheats and Collusions of Impostors.
1829. Southey, All for Love, IV. A plain collusion! a device Between the girl and youth!
2. spec. in Law. See quots. 1641 and 1809.
[1292. Britton, V. x. § 74. A ceo purra il estre respoundu par replicacioun, qe ceo fut par fraude et collusioun. Marg. note, Judgment by collusion.]
1509–10. Act 1 Hen. VIII., c. 20 § 1. Suerties therof founden withoute fraude or collusion.
1641. Termes de la Ley, 65. Collusion is where an Action is brought against another by his own agreement, if the Plaintife recover, then such recovery is called by Collusion.
1809. Tomlins, Law Dict., Collusion is a deceitful agreement or contract between two or more persons, for the one to bring an action against the other, to some evil purpose, as to defraud a third person of his right…. It is a thing the law abhors.
1858. Ld. St. Leonards, Handy Bk. Prop. Law, xii. 75. The petitioner must … deny collusion.
† 3. A trick, or ambiguity, in words or reasoning.
1581. J. Bell, Haddon’s Answ. Osor., 235. The collusion, and fallax of thys reason, is in the insufficient nombring of partes.
1586. A. Day, Eng. Secretary, II. (1625), 86. Prosonomasia a pleasant kind of collusion in words … by changing … or adding a letter or sillable.
1659. Pearson, Creed (1839), 519. The resurrection of the body:… neither the Greek nor Latin ever delivered this Article in those terms, but in these, the resurrection of the flesh; because there may be ambiguity in the one … but there can be no collusion in the other.
