al·lure  ( ə-l r )
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v. al·lured, al·lur·ing, al·lures v.tr. To attract with something desirable; entice: Promises of quick profits allure the unwary investor. v.intr. To be highly, often subtly attractive: charms that still allure. n. The power to attract; enticement.
[Middle English aluren, from Old French alurer : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see AD-) + loirre, bait (of Germanic origin).]
al·lurement n. al·lurer n. al·luring·ly adv. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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