Escape

How to spell escape

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce escape

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does escape mean?

1. verbTo break free from confinement, danger, or an unwanted situation.
2. nounAn act or means of breaking free from confinement or difficulty.

Escape in a sentence

• verb

  The two prisoners tried to escape during the night shift.

• noun

  The daring escape from the camp made headlines for weeks.

• verb

  Residents managed to escape the burning building through a rear door.

• noun

  A long novel was her only escape from a stressful month.

Where does escape come from?

Language of origin: French

This word travels back to a vivid Latin picture. It comes through Old French eschaper, which in turn rose from the Vulgar Latin verb excappare, built from ex- meaning 'out of' and cappa meaning 'cloak'. The literal sense was to leave one's cloak behind, as a pursued person might wriggle out of a captor's grip and abandon the garment in their hands. English took the word on board around the year 1300, by way of Anglo-Norman, and it quickly broadened from that physical wriggling-free to any breaking-out of danger, confinement, or notice. The very same cappa survives in 'cape' and 'chapel', which keeps the hidden cloak alive in everyday English. Worth remembering for spelling: the start is 'es-', not 'ex-', even though the meaning really does come from that Latin ex- 'out'.

How the word is built

• es- (from Latin ex-: out of)
• cape (from Latin cappa: cloak, the image being to slip out of one's cloak)