4 entries found for escape.
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escape[1,verb] escape[2,noun] escape velocity fire escape

Main Entry: ¹es·cape
Pronunciation: is-kp
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): es·caped; es·cap·ing
Etymology: early French escaper "to escape," from assumed Latin excappare (same meaning), from Latin ex- "out, out of" and cappa "head covering, cloak" --related to ²CAPE
1 a : to get away <escape from the daily routine> <escape from a burning building> b : to leak out from some enclosed place <gas is escaping> c : to grow in the wild after being in cultivation
2 : to get out of the way of : AVOID <escape punishment>
3 : to fail to be noticed or recalled by <the name escapes me>
4 : to come out from or be uttered by unexpectedly or almost uncontrollably <a sigh of relief escaped us>
- es·cap·er noun
Word History If you were being held captive by someone gripping the coat or cloak you were wearing, you might be able to get away by slipping out of it. This is the idea on which the word escape is based. Escape is made up of the Latin prefix ex-, which means "out of," and the Latin word cappa, which means "head covering" or "cloak."