To get away from a place, situation, or person that is dangerous, unpleasant, or limiting. As a noun, it can mean the act of getting away or a short break from everyday life.
From Old French *eschaper*, from Vulgar Latin *excappare* 'to get out of one’s cape', from *ex-* 'out of' and *cappa* 'cloak'. The original picture is of slipping out of someone’s grasp by leaving your cloak behind.
Escape once literally meant wriggling out of your own coat while someone grabbed it—leaving the clothing behind to save yourself. That image fits modern escapes too: you often have to drop something (a habit, a place, an identity) to really get free. Even 'escapism'—losing yourself in games or stories—borrows that same idea of slipping away.
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