/elope/

/elope/

Verb.

Pronunciation and accent: ɪləʊp.

Preterite tense, preterite participle: eloped.

Present participle: eloping.

-) It is dated from the beginning of 1300.

Etymology: of uncertain origin. It is said that this verb might be a compound in which –lope would be of the same origin as leap (noun, verb). 

Intransitive: 1. (The subject is a wife) to depart surreptitiously from her husband, in order to the establishment of a cohabitation with another man; this is, to abandon secretly and illicitly one’s spouse, for another man with whom she is willing to cohabit.

Translation: abandonner subrepticement le mari, in French; abandonar subrepticiamente al marido, in Spanish; abbandonare surrettiziamente il marito, in Italian.

[…] guardian to an eloped lady.

Henry Fielding… Tom Jones 1749

-) With the prepositions to (place of destination), from (place or person abandoned) and with (the man who plotted with the eloper to run away together):

"Yes, he has had the impudence," added the enraged husband, "even to intrude into my house, when he knew I was out of the way, and try to persuade my wife to elope with him, and even bribe my servant to bring his insulting letters to her […]”

Hannah Jones… The Gipsy Mother 1833

[Mrs. Charles Levison] had become so infatuated by the seductive arts of […] George, that she had yielded to his persuasions and eloped with him, it was believed, to Italy.

Hannah Jones… The Gipsy Mother 1833

Angry quarrels and recriminations took place, and when they had been married nearly seven years, […] she eloped with a younger man, and left him.

Charles Dickens… Adventures of Nicholas… 1839

[…] the deceit of the only woman he had ever loved, and the deceit of the only friend he had ever made: who eloped from him to be married together […]

Charles Dickens… Mugby Junction 1866

2. (The subject is an unmarried woman) to depart surreptitiously from her parents with the will either to cohabit with a man or to marry him, and without the knowledge or consent of her parents.

Translation: abandonner subrepticement la maison peternelle afin de cohabiter avec un homme, in French; fuggire surrettiziamente dalla casa paterna per coabitare con un uomo, in Italian; huir subrepticiamente de la casa paterna para cohabitar con un hombre, in Spanish.

"Why, then, I'll just tell you what I would do, were I in your place," returned Charles […]. "I would persuade Fanny, without further ceremony or delay, to elope and, when you are once married, leave Earl Raeburn […]"

Hannah Jones… The Gipsy Mother 1833

Adela, at the age of sixteen, eloped with a young man…

Mrs. C. Durang… The Blind Girl 1841

3. (The subject: two persons of opposite sex) to depart surreptitiously or illicitly with the will of marrying or cohabiting together.

Andrew has never reappeared, and he and Mabel the dairymaid are still supposed to have eloped together?

Catherine Crowe… Susan Hopley

How he was recognized as the person who eloped from your castle with the Lady Margaret, I know not.

H. Jones… The Scottish Chieftains 1831

[…] one morning, two days before the wedding was to take place, Miss Sallie was missing from her home, as was likewise Curly Thorn from the neighborhood. Yes, Thorn had eloped with her and they were married the next morning in Nacogdoches.

Andy Adams… A Texas Matchmaker

4. Hence: to escape; abscond.

As soon as it was recognised [the body of Sir John ] and carried home, the faithful valet, true to his master's creed, eloped with all the cash and movables he could lay his hands on, and started as a finished gentleman upon his own account.

Charles Dickens… Barnaby Rudge 1841

The detectives in fact remained constant to their original theory, that Bartley had gone to Europe, and they were able to name with reasonable confidence the person with whom he had eloped.

William Howells… A Modern Instance 1882

-) English words derived from ELOPE: elopement, eloper, eloping.