Etymograph

English

fugitive

Fugitive comes from Latin fugitīvus ‘fugitive, deserter, runaway slave’, from fugitō ‘to flee’, and ultimately from fugiō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfugiō1‘to flee, fly, take flight, escape, depart, run, run away, recede’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfugitō1‘to flee’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfugitīvus1‘fugitive, deserter, runaway slave’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fugitive1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1847fugitive1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English fugitive
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, editorial staff, To Dye Yellow Color: “Turmeric can also dye a yellow, but it is…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfugiōWiktionary, English fugitive‘to flee, fly, take flight, escape, depart, run, run away, recede’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfugitōWiktionary, English fugitive‘to flee’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfugitīvusWiktionary, English fugitive‘fugitive, deserter, runaway slave’
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500fugitiveWiktionary, English fugitive
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1847fugitiveWiktionary, English fugitive. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1847, editorial staff, To Dye Yellow Color: “Turmeric can also dye a yellow, but it is…”

A compound of fugiō ‘to flee, fly, take flight, escape, depart,…’ + fugitō ‘to flee’

Proto-Indo-European *bʰewg-

Proto-Italic *fugjō ‘to flee’

Latin fugiō ‘to flee, fly, take flight, escape, depart, run, run away, recede’

Proto-Indo-European *bʰewg-

Proto-Italic *fugjō ‘to flee’

Latin fugiō ‘to flee, fly, take flight, escape, depart, run, run away, recede’

Latin fugitō ‘to flee’

Linked words

through Latin fugiō ‘to flee, fly, take flight, escape, depart,…’

refugee, refuge, fugue, 8 more

Today it means

noun A person who flees or escapes and travels secretly from place to place, and sometimes using disguises and aliases to conceal their identity, as to avoid law authorities in order to avoid an arrest or prosecution, or to avoid some other unwanted situation.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “fugitive”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin fugiō / fugitive

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