Collogue has been with us since the 17th century, but beyond that little is known about its origin. In his 1755 dictionary, Samuel Johnson defined collogue as “to wheedle, to flatter; to please with kind words.” The “intrigue or conspire” meaning of collogue was also common in Johnson’s day; the fact that Johnson missed it suggests that the meaning may have been used primarily in a dialect unfamiliar to him. Evidence of the “confer” sense of the word appears in the 19th century. Walter Scott used it in an 1811 letter, writing “We shall meet and collogue upon it.” Today, the word is mostly used by the Irish.

Examples

“And how long have you been so thick with Dunsey that you must collogue with him to embezzle my money?” — George Eliot, Silas Marner, 1861

“So it’s a time to collogue and to converse, a time to find a way through this emergency and to ensure Irish America emerges stronger and better—while keeping the bridge to Ireland open.” — Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, The Irish Echo, 15 July 2020