Word of the Day

: August 12, 2014

abscond

verb ab-SKAHND

What It Means

: to depart secretly and hide oneself

abscond in Context

Before anyone could catch on to the fact that Roger was embezzling funds from the company, he had absconded to Mexico with over $100,000.

"Turns out that if you get caught gatecrashing a White House state dinner with your wife, after which said wife absconds with the guitarist from Journey, who you wrongly accuse of kidnapping her, it tends to stick in people's minds." -Marianna Garvey, Brian Niemietz and Oli Coleman, The Daily News (New York), June 2, 2014

Did You Know?

First appearing in English in the 16th century, "abscond" derives from Latin "abscondere," meaning "to hide away," a product of the prefix "ab-" and "condere," a verb meaning "to conceal." ("Condere" is also the root for "recondite," a word meaning "concealed" as well as "hard to understand" or "obscure.") In general usage, "abscond" refers to any act of running away and hiding (usually from the law and often with funds), but, in legal circles, the word is used specifically when someone who has already become the focus of a legal proceeding hides or takes off in order to evade the legal process (as in "absconded from parole").