escapade
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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adventurous or unconventional exploit.[2][5][6] A sense describing a horse throwing off control, plunging and rearing, is obsolete.[7]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
- An adventurous, unconventional or reckless act; a wild prank.
- (rare) An escape from confinement or restraint.
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ a b c d e Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
- ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press