scappare

Forms

scappare (first-person singular present scàppo, first-person singular past historic scappài, past participle scappàto, auxiliary èssere)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *excappāre, a verb formed on Late Latin cappa (“hood; cloak”) with ex- (“out of”).^[2][3][4][1] DELI and most dictionaries take it to have meant “to slip off one's cloak” in order to run away faster;^[2][5][3] Nocentini starts from the transitive sense “to free from the cloak, let go”, and takes the intransitive “to get free, escape” from that.^[2][5][3] The same verb is Romanian scăpa, French échapper, Occitan escapar, Catalan escapar, Spanish escapar, Portuguese escapar and Sardinian iscappare (“to set free”).^[3][6][7] Crossed with Latin campus (“field”), it gave scampare.^[6]

The Latin noun is first recorded in the 6th century, in Gregory of Tours and Isidore.^[8][9] Its origin is disputed: Alessio, cited by the LEI, thought it came from the East through Greek, comparing Persian قبا (qabā), while the leading view on Wiktionary takes it as a shortening of capitulāre, from caput (“head”).^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

DELI's first record is skappare in Francis of Assisi, about 1224, for escaping a danger by flight; the spelling scappare follows in Boccaccio (1353).^[2][4][10] In the Decameron a character threatens: “tu non mi scapperai dalle mani” (you will not escape from my hands).^[11]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to slip out unintentionally”, of words or feelings that cannot be held back, is recorded before 1676 (Carlo Roberto Dati), and “to do or say something unexpectedly” in 1764 (Genovesi).^[2] “To come out of what contains or covers it” follows in 1816, and the plain sense “to run off, hurry away” in Manzoni's Promessi sposi (1825–1827): “scappa, scappa, galantuomo”.^[2] In Umbria the verb also has the form scappire.^[7]

The derivatives took their own paths: scappata meant an outburst in 1589, a lapse in 1600 and a quick trip somewhere in Manzoni's revision of 1840–1842.^[2] Scappatella “a slight transgression” is recorded before 1629, scappatoia “loophole, way out” in 1612, and scappamento named a clock's escapement in 1772 and an engine's exhaust in 1899.^[2][3] English slang scarper “to run away”, first in Polari in 1846, has been traced to the Italian verb, though the link is uncertain.^[10][1]

Timeline

• About 1224 – Francis of Assisi uses skappare.^[2][4]
• 1353 – Boccaccio uses scappare.^[2]
• 1612 – Scappatoia is recorded.^[2]
• Before 1676 – The sense “to slip out unintentionally” is recorded.^[2]
• 1772 – Scappamento names a clock's escapement.^[2]
• 1825–1827 – Manzoni uses the verb for “to run off”.^[2]
• 1846 – English scarper is recorded in Polari.^[10]
• 1899 – Scappamento is used for an engine's exhaust.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To run away, flee: Il cane è scappato appena ha sentito il tuono.^{[4][12][13][1]}
2. (intransitive) To escape from a place where one is confined: Due detenuti sono scappati durante la notte.^[4][12][14]
3. (intransitive) To leave one's family or spouse, run away from home: scappare di casa.^[4][12][15]
4. (intransitive, figurative) To escape from a bad situation: Non si può scappare dai problemi per sempre.^[4][12]
5. (intransitive) To dash off, hurry somewhere: Scappo un attimo in farmacia.^[4][14][13]
6. (intransitive) Of an opportunity or a vehicle, to be missed: Non lasciarti scappare questa offerta.^[12][13][15]
7. (intransitive) Of words, mistakes or feelings, to slip out unintentionally: Mi è scappata una parolaccia.^[13][14][15]
8. (intransitive, colloquial) Of a physical need, to be impossible to hold back: mi scappa da ridere.^[14][13]

Word family

• scappata
• scappatella
• scappatoia
• scappamento
• riscappare

Related words

• scampare
• cappa
• French échapper

Usage notes

Di qui non si scappa means that there is no alternative.^[4][12][13] The proverb chiudere la stalla quando i buoi sono scappati mocks remedies that come too late.^[15][4] The auxiliary is essere.^[1][12]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
3. ^ a b c d e Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
5. ^ a b Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3372
8. ^ a b Pfister, Max; Schweickard, Wolfgang; Prifti, Elton (eds.) (1979–), Lessico Etimologico Italiano, Wiesbaden: Reichert; online at lei-digitale.it, p. 11, 375
9. ^ Körting, Gustav (1907), Lateinisch-romanisches Wörterbuch: etymologisches Wörterbuch der romanischen Hauptsprachen, 3rd ed., Paderborn: Schöningh
10. ^ a b c Stammerjohann, Harro, et al. (2008), Dizionario di italianismi in francese, inglese, tedesco, Firenze: Accademia della Crusca; online at difit.italianisticaonline.it
11. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET, p. 4, 609
12. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
13. ^ a b c d e f Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
14. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
15. ^ a b c d Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana