escape
Definitions
To get free from confinement, danger, or an unwanted situation
逃跑，逃脱（束缚、危险或不想要的处境）
To avoid or fail to be noticed by
避开；未被注意到（如 escape attention）
An act of getting free; a means or way of escaping
逃脱（行为）；逃避的方式
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedA vivid little picture. From Late Latin ex- (out of) + cappa (a cloak). To 'escape' was literally to slip out of your cloak — imagine someone grabbing you by the cape, and you wriggling out of it and running, leaving the empty cloak in their hands. The cappa (a thing that 'covers,' related to the capere 'hold/seize' family) gave English both 'cape' and 'escape': one you wear, the other you get away in.
Root cap still carries 163 more wordsWhy It Means This
The hidden image in escape is a captured person slipping out of their own cloak (ex- 'out' + cappa 'cloak') to get away from whoever is holding it. That is why escape carries a feeling of barely getting free — leaving something behind to save yourself. The abstract uses keep the same logic: escape blame, escape notice, escape reality.
Common Collocations
- 1.escape from prison越狱
- 2.narrow escape侥幸逃脱
- 3.escape notice未被注意
- 4.escape reality逃避现实
Example Sentences
- 1.
Two prisoners managed to escape during the night.
- 2.
She read novels to escape the stress of work.
- 3.
The small error escaped everyone's notice.
- 4.
There was no escape from the burning building.