absquatulate

== English == === Etymology === Attested since the 1830s in American English, a jocular mock-Latin word. Blend of abscond +‎ squat +‎ perambulate, as ab- (“away (from)”) (as in abscond) + squat + *-ulate (as in perambulate, properly -ate), hence meaning “get up (from a squat) and depart (quickly)”. The middle portion was perhaps influenced by -le (“(frequentative)”) and the dialectal term squattle (“depart”); compare contemporary skedaddle. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /æbˈskwɑt͡ʃ.ʊ.leɪt/, /æbzˈkwɑt͡ʃ.ʊ.leɪt/, /æbzˈkwɑt͡ʃ.ə.leɪt/ === Verb === absquatulate (third-person singular simple present absquatulates, present participle absquatulating, simple past and past participle absquatulated) (intransitive, slang) To leave quickly or in a hurry; to depart, flee. [from 19th c.] ==== Synonyms ==== (leave quickly): abscond, decamp, skedaddle, vamoose See Thesaurus:leave ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === See also === Appendix:Fanciful 19th century American coinages === References === === Further reading === Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “absquatulate”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.