scarper
English
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scarper
- /ˈskɑːpə/ UK
- /ˈskɑɹpəɹ/ US
Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)pə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
The verb is probably borrowed from Italian scappare (“to run away, escape, flee”), from Vulgar Latin *excappāre (“to escape”), from Latin ex- (prefix meaning ‘away; out’) + cappa (“(Late Latin) cape, cloak (usually with a hood); (Medieval Latin) cap; headwear”) (further etymology uncertain, probably ultimately from caput (“head”), from dialectal Proto-Indo-European *káput (“head”)) + -āre (the present active infinitive of -ō (suffix forming regular first-conjugation verbs)). Around World War I (1914–1918), the English word was influenced by the Cockney rhyming slang term Scapa Flow (“to go”). Doublet of escape and scape.
The noun is derived from the verb.
verb scarpers · scarpering · scarpered
- Chiefly in scarper the letty: to depart quickly or run away from (a place); to flee. We were in debt with the landlady, and Joe and I had decided that none of us should be allowed to "scarper the letty," which means to sneak out of the lodgings without paying. The good lady might have to wait for her money—that was obvious—but we were stuck in Manchester until we could pay and get e
- To depart quickly; to escape, to flee, to run away. A horse takes fright and "scarpers," or runs away.
noun scarpers
- Chiefly in do a scarper: an act of departing quickly or running away; an escape, a flight. As a matter of fact we were all pritty flabergasted, for although we had all planned to do a scarper none of us realy thought we would have the guts to do it.
Talk about this word "scarper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/scarper. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. scarper. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/scarper "scarper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/scarper.Cite this
@misc{scarper_2026,
title = {scarper},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/scarper},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
