*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of elope

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder. Proto-Indo-European *h₂unt- Proto-Germanic *unþa- Proto-West Germanic *unþa- Proto-Indo-European *klewb-der. Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną Proto-West Germanic *hlaupan Proto-West G

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

Of a married or engaged person, to run away from home with a paramour. · Of an unmarried person, to run away secretly for the purpose of getting married with one's intended spouse; to marry in a quick or private fashion, especially without a public period of engagement. · Of an unmarried person, to run away secretly from home in order to get married without parental or guardian consent. · To escape from one's caretaker.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewder. Proto-Indo-European *h₂unt- Proto-Germanic *unþa- Proto-West Germanic *unþa- Proto-Indo-European *klewb-der. Proto-Germanic *hlaupaną Proto-West Germanic *hlaupan Proto-West Germanic *andihlaupanbor. Anglo-Norman aloperder. English elope From Anglo-Norman aloper (“to abduct, run away”), itself borrowed from Proto-West Germanic *andihlaupan (“to run away”). Equivalent to and- + lope as well as and- + leap (these being doublets). First attested in 1593. More at lope.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Derivation mention*unþahlaupangmw-pro
  • Word-formation componentand-en
  • Word-formation componentlopeen
  • Word-formation componentleapen

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "xno:aloper<ety:bor<gmw-pro:*unþahlaupan<alt:*andihlaupan>>>",
        "4": ":af<surf>",
        "5": "and-",
        "6": "lope",
        "7": ":af<surf>",
        "8": "and-",
        "9": "leap",
        "etydate": "1593",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.\nProto-Indo-European *h₂unt-\nProto-Germanic *unþa-\nProto-West Germanic *unþa-\nProto-Indo-European *klewb-der.\nProto-Germanic *hlaupaną\nProto-West Germanic *hlaupan\nProto-West Germanic *andihlaupanbor.\nAnglo-Norman aloperder.\nEnglish elope\n[Appendix:Glossary#derived_terms|Derived]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*andihlaupan\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*h₂unt-\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₂ew\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*unþa-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*unþa-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*klewb-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*hlaupaną\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*hlaupan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*unþahlaupan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Anglo-Norman\", \"term\" : \"aloper\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"xno\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"and-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"lope\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"By surface analysis,\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\", \"is_invisible\" : \"tree\" }, { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"and-\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }, { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"leap\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"By surface analysis,\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\", \"is_invisible\" : \"tree\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"elope\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"elope\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "xno",
        "3": "aloper",
        "t": "to abduct, run away"
      },
      "expansion": "Anglo-Norman aloper (“to abduct, run away”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmw-pro",
        "3": "*unþahlaupan",
        "4": "*andihlaupan",
        "5": "to run away"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *andihlaupan (“to run away”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "af",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "and-",
        "3": "lope"
      },
      "expansion": "and- + lope"
    },
    {
      "name": "af",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "and-",
        "3": "leap"
      },
      "expansion": "and- + leap"
    },
    {
      "name": "etydate",
      "args": {
        "1": "1593"
      },
      "expansion": "First attested in 1593"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":der",
        "3": "xno:aloper<ety:bor<gmw-pro:*unþahlaupan<alt:*andihlaupan>>>",
        "4": ":af<surf>",
        "5": "and-",
        "6": "lope",
        "7": ":af<surf>",
        "8": "and-",
        "9": "leap",
        "etydate": "1593",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *h₂ewder.\nProto-Indo-European *h₂unt-\nProto-Germanic *unþa-\nProto-West Germanic *unþa-\nProto-Indo-European *klewb-der.\nProto-Germanic *hlaupaną\nProto-West Germanic *hlaupan\nProto-West Germanic *andihlaupanbor.\nAnglo-Norman aloperder.\nEnglish elope"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*h₂ew",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂ew"
    ],
    [
      "*unþa-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/unþa-"
    ],
    [
      "*unþa-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/unþa-"
    ],
    [
      "*klewb-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/klewb-"
    ],
    [
      "*hlaupaną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/hlaupaną"
    ],
    [
      "*hlaupan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/hlaupan"
    ],
    [
      "*andihlaupan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/unþahlaupan"
    ],
    [
      "aloper",
      "aloper#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "aloper",
      "aloper#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*andihlaupan",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/unþahlaupan"
    ],
    [
      "and-",
      "and-#English"
    ],
    [
      "lope",
      "lope#English"
    ],
    [
      "and-",
      "and-#English"
    ],
    [
      "leap",
      "leap#English"
    ],
    [
      "lope",
      "lope#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "Of a married or engaged person, to run away from home with a paramour.",
        "Of an unmarried person, to run away secretly for the purpose of getting married with one's intended spouse; to marry in a quick or private fashion, especially without a public period of engagement.",
        "Of an unmarried person, to run away secretly from home in order to get married without parental or guardian consent.",
        "To escape from one's caretaker."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "dated"
      ],
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      "rawRecordSha256": "ecc5f2dd99705ada86e2db758fc2c0ff1cc3da7eee36581de87ba0aa6bfc7f3e",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 455948
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for elope →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-ZWxvcGU