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Origin and history of escapade

escapade(n.)

1650s, "an escape from confinement," from French escapade (16c.) "a prank or trick," from Spanish escapada "a prank, flight, an escape," noun use of fem. past participle of escapar "to escape," from Vulgar Latin *excappare (see escape (v.)). Or perhaps the French word is via Italian scappata, from scappare, from the same Vulgar Latin source. Figurative sense (1814) implies a "breaking loose" from rules or restraints on behavior.

also from 1650s

Entries linking to escapade

escape(v.)

c. 1300, transitive and intransitive, "free oneself from confinement; extricate oneself from trouble; get away safely by flight (from battle, an enemy, etc.)," from Old North French escaper, Old French eschaper (12c., Modern French échapper), from Vulgar Latin *excappare, literally "get out of one's cape, leave a pursuer with just one's cape," from Latin ex- "out of" (see ex-) + Late Latin cappa "mantle" (see cap (n.)). Mid-14c., of things, "get or keep out of a person's grasp, elude (notice, perception, attention, etc.);" late 14c. as "avoid experiencing or suffering (something), avoid physical contact with; avoid (a consequence)." Formerly sometimes partly Englished as outscape (c. 1500). Related: Escaped; escaping.

Ice-Capade(n.)

1941, originally a film title, from ice (n.) + a punning play on escapade.

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    lark
    songbird of the Old World, early 14c., earlier lauerche (c. 1200), from Old English lawerce (late Old English laferce), from Proto-Germanic *laiw(a)rikon (source also of Old Saxon lewerka, Frisian liurk, Old Norse lævirik, Dutch leeuwerik, German Lerche), a word of unknown origin
    adventure
    c. 1200, aventure, auenture "that which happens by chance, fortune, luck," from Old French aventure (11c.) "chance, accident, occurrence, event, happening," from Latin adventura (res) "(a thing) about to happen," from fem. of adventurus, future participle of advenire "to come to,
    recreation
    late 14c., recreacioun, "refreshment or curing of a person, refreshment by eating," from Old French recreacion (13c.), from Latin recreationem (nominative recreatio) "recovery from illness," noun of action from past participle stem of recreare "to refresh, restore, make anew, rev
    labor
    c. 1300, "a task, a project" (such as the labors of Hercules); later "exertion of the body; trouble, difficulty, hardship" (late 14c.), from Old French labor "toil, work, exertion, task; tribulation, suffering" (12c., Modern French labeur), from Latin labor "toil, exertion; hards
    project
    c. 1400, projecte, "a plan, draft, scheme, design," from Medieval Latin proiectum "something thrown forth," noun use of neuter of Latin proiectus, past participle of proicere "stretch out, thrust out, throw forth," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + combining form of iacere (past p
    diversion
    early 15c., diversioun, "process of diverting," from Medieval Latin diversionem (nominative diversio), noun of action from past-participle stem of Latin divertere (see divert). Meaning "act of turning aside from a course of action" is from c. 1600; that of "act of diverting (some
    task
    early 14c., taske, "a quantity of labor imposed as a duty," from Old North French tasque (12c., Old French tasche, Modern French tâche) "duty, tax," from Vulgar Latin *tasca "a duty, assessment," a metathesis of Medieval Latin taxa, which is a back-formation from Latin taxare "to
    skat
    card game, 1864, from German Skat (by 1838), from earlier scart (said to have been a term used in the old card game taroc, which was of Italian origin), from Italian scarto "cards laid aside," which is said to be a back-formation from scartare, from Latin ex- "off, away" + Late L
    dangerous
    c. 1200, daungerous, "difficult to deal with, arrogant, severe" (the opposite of affable), from Anglo-French dangerous, Old French dangeros (12c., Modern French dangereux), from danger "power, power to harm, mastery, authority, control" (see danger). In Chaucer, it can mean "hard
    coordinate
    1640s, "of the same order, belonging to the same rank or degree," from Medieval Latin coordinatus, past participle of coordinare "to set in order, arrange," from assimilated form of com "with, together" (see com-) + ordinatio "arrangement," from ordo "row, rank, series, arrangeme

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