Word of the Day

: September 27, 2007

fugitive

noun FYOO-juh-tiv

What It Means

1 : a person who flees or tries to escape; especially : refugee

2 : something elusive or hard to find

fugitive in Context

The television news aired frequent descriptions of the fugitive, who was wanted for assault and murder.

Did You Know?

"Fugitive" was adopted into English as both a noun and an adjective in the 14th century. Both forms came to Middle English by way of Middle French from the Latin adjective "fugitivus." "Fugitivus," in turn, comes from "fugitus," the past participle of the verb "fugere," meaning "to flee." Since its adoption, the noun "fugitive" has been used to identify a motley group of individuals: runaway slaves and soldiers, on-the-run criminals, exiles, refugees, and vagabonds. Eventually, it also developed a less commonly used extended sense for things which are difficult to find or pin down.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.