Merriam-Webster's Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition
ESCAPE
I. verb (escaped; escaping)
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French escaper, eschaper, from Vulgar Latin *excappare, from Latin ex- + Late Latin cappa head covering, cloak
Date: 13th century
intransitive verb
1. to get away (as by flight) , to issue from confinement , to run wild from cultivation, to avoid a threatening evil , transitive verb to get free of ; break away from , to get or stay out of the way of ; avoid , to fail to be noticed or recallable by ,
4. to issue from , to be uttered involuntarily by , escaper noun Synonyms: see: escape
II. noun
Date: 14th century
an act or instance of escaping: as, flight from confinement, evasion of something undesirable, leakage or outflow especially of a fluid, distraction or relief from routine or reality, a means of escape, a cultivated plant run wild,
III. adjective
Date: 1817
providing a means of escape , providing a means of evading a regulation, claim, or commitment