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abscond - 6 dictionary results

ab⋅scond

  [ab-skond]
Use abscond in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
to depart in a sudden and secret manner, esp. to avoid capture and legal prosecution: The cashier absconded with the money.
Origin:
1605–15; < L abscondere to hide or stow away, equiv. to abs- abs- + condere to stow (con- con- + -dere to put; see do 1 )

Related forms:
ab⋅scond⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
decamp, bolt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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ab·scond   (āb-skŏnd')   
intr.v.   ab·scond·ed, ab·scond·ing, ab·sconds
To leave quickly and secretly and hide oneself, often to avoid arrest or prosecution.

[Latin abscondere, to hide : abs-, ab-, away; see ab-1 + condere, to put; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]
ab·scond'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Abscond

Ab*scond"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Absconded; p. pr. & vb. n. Absconding.] [L. abscondere to hide; ab, abs + condere to lay up; con + d[a^]re (only in comp.) to put. Cf. Do.]

1. To hide, withdraw, or be concealed.

The marmot absconds all winter. --Ray.

2. To depart clandestinely; to steal off and secrete one's self; -- used especially of persons who withdraw to avoid a legal process; as, an absconding debtor.

That very homesickness which, in regular armies, drives so many recruits to abscond. --Macaulay.

Abscond

Ab*scond"\, v. t. To hide; to conceal. [Obs.] --Bentley.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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abscond 
1565, from L. abscondere "to hide, conceal," from ab(s)- "away" + condere "put together, store," from com- "together" + dere "put," from PIE *dhe- "to put, place, make" (see factitious). The notion is of "to hide oneself," esp. to escape debt or the law.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ab·scond
Pronunciation: ab-'skänd, &b-
Function: intransitive verb
: to depart secretly : withdraw and hide oneself; specifically : to evade the legal process of a court by hiding within or secretly leaving its jurisdiction <absconded with the funds> <abscond from New York> <abscond to Canada> —ab·scond·er noun
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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