absquatulate

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English

WOTD – 17 June 2006

Etymology

Attested since the 1830s in American English, a jocular mock-Latin word.[1] Blend of abscond +‎ squat +‎ perambulate, as ab- (“away (from)”) (as in abscond) + squat + *-ulate (as in perambulate, properly -ate), hence meaning “get up (from a squat) and depart (quickly)”.[1][2] The middle portion was perhaps influenced by -le (“(frequentative)”) and the dialectal term squattle (“depart”); compare contemporary skedaddle.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /æbˈskwɑt͡ʃ.ʊ.leɪt/, /æbzˈkwɑt͡ʃ.ʊ.leɪt/, /æbzˈkwɑt͡ʃ.ə.leɪt/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

absquatulate (third-person singular simple present absquatulates, present participle absquatulating, simple past and past participle absquatulated)

  1. (intransitive, slang) To leave quickly or in a hurry; to depart, flee. [3]
    • 1840 January 9, “The President's Message, No. 2”, in Lincoln Telegraph, volume IV, number 41, Bath, Maine, page 3:
      Even within the past year, several Land Officers and keepers of public monies--the Collector of New Orleans and Plattsburg--the Post Masters of Mobile and Worcester have made serious and prominent additions to the long catalogue of absquatulating defaulters.
    • 1860 September, “A Day with the Dead”, in The Atlantic Monthly‎, volume 6, number 35:
      Why, I expect in a year or two to see coffins introduced into the parlors of the Fifth Avenue, and to find them, when their owners fail or absquatulate, advertised for sale at auction, with the rest of the household furniture, at a great sacrifice on the original cost.
    • 1863, William Makepeace Thackeray, Roundabout Papers:
      Whilst I was looking for the books, Lord Orville came in. He looked uncommonly down in the mouth, as he said: ‘Is this true, Miss Anville; are you going to cut?‘ ‘To absquatulate, Lord Orville,’ said I, still pretending that I was looking for the books.
    • 1910, H. G. Wells, The history of Mr. Polly:
      " […] Now I see you again—I’m satisfied. I’m satisfied completely. See? I’m going to absquatulate, see? Hey Presto right away.”
      He turned to his tea for a moment, finished his cup noisily, stood up.

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References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Michael Quinion (August 3, 2002) “Absquatulate”, in World Wide Words.
  2. ^ New Orleans Weekly Picayune, December 1839
  3. ^ Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “absquatulate”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 9.

Further reading

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