skedaddle

WOTD - 28 January 2008    

English

Etymology

Probably an alteration of British dialect scaddle (“to run off in a fright”), from the adjective scaddle (“wild, timid, skittish”), from Middle English scathel, skadylle (“harmful, fierce, wild”), of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skaði (“harm”). Possibly related to the Greek σκέδασις (skedasis, “scattering”), σκεδασμός (skedasmos, “dispersion”). (US) Possibly related to scud or scat.

Pronunciation

• (RP, US) IPA: /skɪˈdædəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ædəl

Verb

skedaddle (third-person singular simple present skedaddles, present participle skedaddling, simple past and past participle skedaddled)

1. To move or run away quickly.

   The sheep skedaddled as soon as the shepherd’s dog came near.

Synonyms

• (move or run away quickly): flee, vamoose, scat, take off, make tracks, get lost

Translations

move or run away quickly

Dutch: vluchten (nl), wegstuiven (nl), het op een lopen zetten (nl) Finnish: juosta (fi) karkuun (fi) French: déguerpir (fr) German: abhauen (de), türmen (de) Hungarian: megfutamodik (hu) Interlingua: sortir Polish: zwiewać, zwiać

Russian: драпать (ru) (drápat') impf., улепётывать (ru) (ulepjótyvat') impf., удирать (ru) (udirát') impf., удрать (ru) (udrát') pf., сматываться (ru) (smátyvat'sja) impf., смотаться (ru) (smotát'sja) pf. Spanish: largarse (es), irse (es) Swedish: sticka, pysa, dra

References

• 1897 Hunter, Robert, and Charles Morris (editors), Universal Dictionary of the English Language, v4, p4291: "Etym. doubtful; perhaps allied to scud. To betake one's self hurriedly to flight; to run away as in a panic; to fly in terror. (A word of American origin.)"