escapade

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈɛskəˌpeɪd/, /ˌɛskəˈpɑːd/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French escapade (“prank, trick; escape”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Spanish escapada (“flight, escape, prank”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from escapar “to escape”;^{[2][3][4][5][6]} the French word may instead come from Italian scappata, from scappare.^[2][3][4] Both go back to Vulgar Latin *excappāre,^[2][3][4][5] the source of escape.^[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

An escape from confinement or restraint (1653).^[7][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense, a breaking loose from rules or restraint, a flighty piece of conduct, is first recorded in 1814.^[7][3][4] The word now means an adventurous or unconventional exploit.^[2][5][6] A sense describing a horse throwing off control, plunging and rearing, is obsolete.^[7]

Timeline

• 1645–55 – Random House's dating.^[6]
• 1653 – an escape from confinement.^[7][3][4]
• 1667 – Merriam-Webster's date.^[5]
• 1814 – a breaking loose from convention.^[7][3][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An adventurous, unconventional or reckless act; a wild prank.
2. (rare) An escape from confinement or restraint.

Related words

• escape
• caper
• antic

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press