Etymology of Escape

ESCAPE (v.)

From Vulgar Latin excappare, literally “slip out of one’s cape, leave a pursuer with just one’s cape.” With Latin ex- meaning “out of” + cappa meaning “mantle.”

Old French eschaper c. 1300 meaning “to free oneself from confinement; to extricate oneself from trouble; to get away safely by flight (from battle, an enemy, etc.).”

Sentences using ESCAPE:

• “How long I have grasped at her cape! I am no pursuer, no enemy. And yet she wished to escape me.”
• “Why would my love escape my love?”