elope
UK[ɪˈləʊp]US[ɪˈloʊp]
v
To run away secretly in order to get married, especially without parental consent.
Etymology
The word "elope" has a vivid journey from a general sense of escape to its specific romantic connotation. It entered English in the late 16th century from the Anglo-Norman legal phrase 'aloper', meaning "to run away from a husband with a lover," which itself derived from the Middle Dutch verb 'lopen', meaning "to run." This Dutch root is part of the wider Germanic family, traceable to the Proto-Germanic 'hlaupaną' (to leap, run) and ultimately to the Proto-Indo-European 'klewb-', conveying a sense of springing or moving quickly. The original English use focused on a wife's illicit escape, but over time, the meaning softened and narrowed to its modern sense of a couple secretly running away to marry, shedding its earlier implication of wrongdoing and emphasizing the adventurous, clandestine nature of the act.
Analysis
This word is a simplex. It is a loanword from Middle Dutch 'lopen' (to run) via Anglo-Norman 'aloper', and does not contain separable morphemes in its modern English form.
Examples
The young couple decided to elope to Las Vegas to avoid a large, traditional wedding.
In the classic story, the heroine plans to elope with her lover under the cover of darkness.
They eloped last summer, telling their families only after they returned as husband and wife.