abscond

Definition

To flee, often secretly; to steal away.

Etymology

Either borrowed from Middle French abscondre or directly from Latin abscondō (“hide”); formed from abs, ab (“away”) + condō (“put together, store”), from con- (“together”) + *dʰeh₁- (“to put, place, set”). * Cognate with sconce (“a type of light fixture”).

Example Sentences

• "The thieves absconded with our property."
• "[…] that very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond at the risk of stripes and of death."
• "Spring beckons! All things to the call respond; / The trees are leaving and cashiers abscond."

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