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skedaddle

Pronunciation: /skɪˈdædɫ̩/

The English word “skedaddle” has 3 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To move or run away quickly.
  2. To spill; to scatter.

noun

  1. The act of running away; a scurrying off.

Etymology

First use appears c. 1861, in the New York Tribune. The word appeared and gained prominence in Civil War military contexts around 1861, and rapidly passing into more general use. Possibly an alteration of British dialect scaddle (“to run off in a fright”), from the adjective scaddle (“wild, timid, skittish”), from Middle English scathel, skadylle (“harmful, fierce, wild”), of North…

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