verb (colloquial).—To confer confidentially and secretly; to conspire; to wheedle; or flatter. The term is also used in a humorous sense. [From Lat. col, together + Lat. loquor, to speak, influenced probably by ‘colleague’ and ‘colloquy.’]
1596. NASHE, Have with You to Saffron-Walden, in wks. III., 136. For once before I had bin so cousend by his COLLOGING, though personally we neuer met face to face.
1676. ROCHESTER, The History of Insipids, st. 9.
| When to give Money he can’t COLOGUE ’em, | |
| He does with Scorn prorogue, prorogue ’em. |
1748. T. DYCHE, A New General English Dictionary (5 ed.). COLLOGUE (v.): to treat with a person underhandedly, to cheat, flatter, coax, or sooth a person in order to get a secret out of him.
1818. SCOTT, Rob Roy, ch. xxxvii. It was hardly possible two such d—d rascals should COLLOGUE together without mischief to honest people.
1857. R. H. BARHAM, The Ingoldsby Legends (The House-warming).
| Miss Alice, in short, was supposed to ‘COLLOGUE’—I | |
| Don’t much like the word—with the subtle old rogue, I | |
| ’ve heard call’d by so many names,—one of them ’s ‘Bogy.’ |
1858. G. ELIOT, Mr. Gilfil’s Love-Story, ch. iv. ‘We shall be poisoned wi’ lime an’ plaster, and hev the house full o’ workmen COLLOGEING wi’ the maids, an’ makin’ no end o’ mischief.’
1861. G. ELIOT, Silas Marner, ch. ix. ‘And how long have you been so thick with Dunsey that you must COLLOGUE with him to embezzle my money?’
