escapeescape

Escape comes from Middle English escapen, from Old Northern French escaper, from Vulgar Latin *excappāre ‘to get out of one's clothing’, from ex- + cappa ‘cape’.

1. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEcappa¹‘cape, cloak’
2. Vulgar Latinc. 100–700 CE*excappāre¹‘to escape a garment’literally ‘to free oneself from one's cape’reconstructed
3. Old Northern Frenchc. 842–1400escaper¹
4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500escapen¹
5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598escape¹

1. ¹ Wiktionary, English escape
2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “sailors that escaped the wreck”.