Left secretly and suddenly, usually to avoid arrest, prosecution, or some kind of responsibility or debt.
From Latin 'abscondere' (to hide away), from 'abs-' (away) + 'condere' (to conceal). Entered English in the 1500s through legal terminology.
The word has a wonderfully dramatic formality to it—newspapers and legal documents love 'absconded' because it sounds like a serious crime thriller. In everyday speech we'd just say 'ran off,' but 'absconded' makes it sound like a major felony.
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