Etymologically
Log in

fugitive

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 31 October 2026 at 07:04. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • /ˈfjuːd͡ʒɪtɪv/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English fugitif,[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French fugitif,[5][6][3][7][8] and also directly borrowed from Latin fugitīvus (“fleeing; a runaway”),[9][4][10] from fugitus, the past participle of fugiō (“to flee”).[5][7][11][9] In Latin the adjective was often used as a noun for a runaway, a fugitive slave or a deserter.[6][9] The Latin verb is from Proto-Indo-European *bheug- (“to flee”),[6][9][8] the source of Ancient Greek φεύγω (pheúgō, “to flee”)[6][9][8][12] and of Lithuanian bauginti (“to frighten”) and baugus (“timid”).[6][9][4] Klein and Merriam-Webster connect this root with one meaning "to bend", the source of bow and Old English būgan (“to bend, bow; to flee”).[8][4][13]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fleeing, having taken flight: about 1380, in Chaucer's House of Fame,[9][2] where the OED reads it as "banished, exiled" (about 1384).[5] The noun, a runaway, is first recorded before 1382, in the Wycliffite Bible.[9][5][2]

Semantic evolution

From people who flee from justice, an enemy or a master,[5][11] the adjective was extended to things that move from place to place (1481, in Caxton)[5] and, in Middle English, to what is unstable or elusive.[2] Its main figurative sense, "fleeting, of short duration", is recorded from about 1500 in Etymonline,[6] 1518 in the OED;[5] from 1678 it was used of colours and impressions that fade quickly,[5][11] and since 1766 of short writings on subjects of passing interest.[5][6] The noun likewise meant an exile or refugee from Shakespeare's time on, and for a time a deserter.[5][11] Johnson (1755) listed "not tenable", "unsteady", "volatile" and "flying; running from danger".[14] Weekley compares the figurative senses with those of fleeting.[12]

Timeline

  • c. 1380 – adjective, fleeing, in Chaucer's House of Fame.[9][2]
  • before 1382 – noun, a runaway, in the Wycliffite Bible.[9][5]
  • 1467 – having taken flight, especially from justice or a master.[5]
  • 1481 – moving from place to place, wandering.[5]
  • c. 1500 – fleeting, of short duration.[6]
  • 1518 – of immaterial things, fleeting.[5]
  • 1553 – noun, a deserter (obsolete by 1659).[5]
  • before 1616 – noun, an exile or refugee, in Shakespeare.[5]
  • 1678 – of colours and impressions, quickly fading.[5]
  • 1766 – of writings, of passing interest, occasional.[5][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person who flees or tries to escape, especially from the law, an enemy or danger: a fugitive from justice.[15][4][5]
  2. A person who has fled his or her country; an exile or refugee.[4][5]
  3. Something elusive or fleeting.[15]

Adjective

  1. Running away or having fled, as from the law or captivity.[15][4][5]
  2. Lasting only a short time; fleeting, transient: a fugitive smile.[15][4][5]
  3. Moving from place to place; wandering.[15][4][5]
  4. Of colours or dyes, fading quickly.[5][11]
  5. Of writings, of passing interest; ephemeral, occasional.[5][11]

Word family

  • fugitively
  • fugitiveness
  • nonfugitive
  • fugue
  • refuge
  • refugee
  • subterfuge
  • centrifugal
  • fugacious
  • febrifuge
  • feverfew
  • bow

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ a b c d Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  11. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
  13. ^ Skeat, Walter W. (1911), A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the English Language, new ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  14. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  15. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins