fugitive, a. and n.
(ˈfjuːdʒɪtɪv)
Forms: 4–6 fugit-, fugyt-, -if(e, -yf(e, -yve, (5 fegetyff), 6– fugitive.
[a. F. fugitif, fugitive, ad. L. fugitīvus, f. fugit- ppl. stem of fugĕre to flee.]
A. adj. (Formerly sometimes with inflected plural, esp. in legal phrases after AF.)
1. Apt or tending to flee; given to, or in the act of, running away.
| 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. i. 7 Whilst yet with Parthian blood thy Sword is warme, The Fugitiue Parthians follow. 1625 K. Long tr. Barclay's Argenis iii. xv. 200 Hee was not much pleased with this fugitive course. a 1704 T. Brown Pleas. Ep. Wks. 1730 I. 110 Call back our fugitive mercers from Covent-garden. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 68 His oars with fugitive hurry the waters beat. |
| fig. 1627–77 Feltham Resolves i. xx. 87 Fugitive Divines, that like cowards..run away from their Text. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 45 A fugitive and cloister'd vertue..that never sallies out and sees her adversary. |
b. That has taken flight,
esp. from duty, an enemy, justice, or a master.
† Also, of a debtor: Intending flight.
| 1467 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 376 That no citezein be attached by his body as fugityf. 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 48. §2 Catalles of felons fugitif. 1527 R. Thorne in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 255 That none should receiue the others subiects fugitiues. 1535 Coverdale Judg. xii. 5 Now whan one of y⊇ fugityue Ephraites dyd saye [etc.]. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 139 If it be my lucke to recover the fugitive fellowe [a slave]. 1597 Skene De Verb. Sign. 120 Malefactoures quha are fugitive fra the law. 1600 Holland Livy xxiv. xxx. (1609) 530 There were scourged and beheaded of fugitive traitours, to the number of two thousand. 1613 Sir H. Finch Law (1636) 78 In London, if the debtor be fugitive, that the creditor before the day of payment may arrest him to find better surety. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 16 The wrauth Of stern Achilles on his Foe pursu'd Thrice Fugitive about Troy Wall. 1748 Richardson Clarissa III. xxxi. 168 To countenance a fugitive daughter, in opposition to her parents. 1753 Glover Boadicea i. i, Come from your hills, ye fugitive remains Of shattered cohorts. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St. Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 99 To implore the pardon of a poor fugitive negress. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 224 The fugitive Englishry found in England..munificent relief. 1880 E. Kirke Garfield 19 This was the first instance in which a Union officer refused to return a fugitive slave. |
| fig. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. i. (Arb.) 56 By what crafte..the kynge maye..drawe to him againe fugitiue Naples. 1704 Addr. Glamorgan in Lond. Gaz. No. 4064/6 For him it was reserved to reduce fugitive Victory to her former Mistriss's Land. |
† c. Of a substance (
e.g. the metal mercury): Escaping from or eluding the grasp, slippery.
Obs.—1| c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 318 Þe fegetyff mercury [perteynyng] on-to mercuryus. |
† 2. Driven out, banished, exiled. Const.
from,
of.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame i. 146 That first came thorgh his destanee ffugityfe of Troy Contree In Italye. 1513 Douglas æneis i. i. 4 The man..that fugitive By fait to Itale coyme. 1549 Compl. Scot. ix. 81 He vas fugitiue fra al cuntreis. c 1560 R. Morice in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 25, I became fugityve frome myn awne house. 1598 R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. 34 The Armenians..receiued the fugitiue Vonones. |
3. Moving from place to place; flitting, shifting, vagabond. Also
fig. Fickle.
| 1481 Caxton Godfrey cxxxi. 195 heading, How guyllem de grateuylle and his felaws fugytyfs cam in to Allexandrye the lasse. 1490 ― Eneydos ii. 16 This noble companye..now vacabonde and fugytyf by the feeldes dardanike. 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1596) 266/2 The Pictavians..fugitiue and unstable. 1615 J. Stephens Satyr. Ess. 277 His helpe extends farre and neere to fugitive Raga-muffins. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. iii. i. ii. (1651) 185 Restless..fickle, fugitive, they may not abide to tarrie in one place long. 1662 R. Mathew Unl. Alch. §114. 186, I pity thy fugitive mind, and pray for thee, when I see thee hunt from one man to another, and from one Medicine unto another. 1883 Macfadyen in Congreg. Year Bk. 72 Fugitive preachers make fugitive congregations. 1893 Daily News 26 Apr. 2/3 With fugitive securities, which move between London and foreign stock markets. |
4. a. Of immaterial things: Evanescent, fleeting, of short duration.
| c 1510 Barclay Mirr. Gd. Manners (1570) B iv, This shorte life present as shadowe fugitiue. 1635 R. Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. v. 127 Fugitive follies and fading pleasures. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 109 In Youth alone, unhappy Mortals live; But, ah! the mighty Bliss is fugitive. 1743 R. Blair Grave 568 Bless'd as the pleasing dreams of holy men; But fugitive like those. 1816 L. Hunt Rimini iv. 7 The woe was earthly, fugitive, is past. 1863 M. Howitt F. Bremer's Greece I. vi. 162 A fugitive gleam lit up the Vales of Athens and Sparta. 1877 Dowden Shaks. Prim. iv. 41 The latter—the weak endings—are more fugitive and evanescent in character. |
b. Of impressions, colours, etc.: Quickly fading or becoming effaced. Less correctly of material substances: Perishable.
| 1678 R. R[ussell] Geber i. v. 12 For the Fire..consumes every Fugitive and inflammable Substance. 1695 Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth vi. (1723) 296 The more tender and fugitive Parts, as the Leaves. 1822 J. Imison Sc. & Art II. 188 The colour is extremely fugitive. 1842 J. Bischoff Woollen Manuf. II. 81 The materials used in the fugitive dyes. 1879 Farrar St. Paul I. 574 note, Letters written on fugitive materials. 1879 Print. Trades Jrnl. No. 26. 30 Cerise, like most aniline colors, is fugitive. |
c. Of a chemical substance: Volatile.
rare.
| 1666 Boyle Orig. Formes & Qual. (1667) 48 Quicksilver..may be turn'd into..a Fugitive Smoak. 1684–5 ― Min. Waters 76 Spirituous and Fugitive Exhalations. 1850 Daubeny Atom. Th. x. (ed. 2) 324 A fixed carbonate..heated along with an ammoniacal compound of a less fugitive description. |
d. Bot. Of flowers and petals: Soon falling.
| 1830 Lindley Nat. Syst. Bot. 151 [Of the Rock-rose Tribe] Petals 5, hypogynous, very fugitive. Ibid. Their beautiful fugitive flowers. |
5. Of a literary composition (
occas. of a writer): Concerned or dealing with subjects of passing interest; ephemeral, occasional.
| 1766 Anstey Bath Guide ii. (1832) 15 At least when he chooses his book to increase I may take a small flight as a fugitive piece. 1820 Byron Blues ii. 95 You're a fugitive writer, I think, sir, of rhymes? 1823 J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. p. vii, Various fugitive publications of the day. 1864 Spectator 9 Apr. 423 The greater part of periodical literature is meant to be, and ought to remain, fugitive. |
B. n. 1. One who flees or tries to escape from danger, an enemy, justice, or an owner.
Cf. A. 1.
Occas. one who intends flight.
to declare a person a fugitive (
Sc. Law): to pronounce sentence of
fugitation upon.
| 1382 Wyclif Num. xxxv. 11 Fugityues that not wilnyng sheeden blood. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) vi. 66 Men resceyved there all manere of Fugityfes of other places. 1467 Eng. Gilds 405 Though it so be the seid fugitif fynd suerte to answer to the accion comencyd ayenst hym. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. i. vii. 16 To fugityues vnneth or with grete payne cometh agayn the herte to fighte. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 128 Your clearke or Secretarie, hath plaide the fugitive or runnagate. 1667–1708 Termes de la Ley 357 Fugitives Goods are the proper goods of him that flies upon felony, which, after the Flight lawfully found, do belong to the King. [The AF. version has fugitives biens, as if the word were an adj.; but the passage of Coke referred to (Rep. v. 109 b) has bona fugitivorum.] 1672 Wilkins Nat. Relig. 252 That man (saith he [Antoninus]) is to be esteemed a fugitive and an apostate, who runs away from his master. 1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 147 The Persons contained in the Criminal Letters, and formerly declared Fugitives. 1845 S. Austin Ranke's Hist. Ref. III. 473 The approach of the Turks filled the town with crowds of fugitives. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid i. 340 Dido..a fugitive here Fled from a brother. |
† b. A deserter.
Obs.| 1553 Brende Q. Curtius v. 94/1 It was there shewed him by fugitiues that came out of Darius camp, that he was fled with al spede into Bactria. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iv. ix. 22 But let the world ranke me in Register A Master leauer, and a fugitiue. 1611 Bible 2 Kings xxv. 11 The fugitiues that fell away to the king of Babylon. 1659 Pearson Creed (1839) 293 The Romans themselves accounted it a servile punishment, and inflicted it upon their slaves and fugitives. |
c. One who quits or is banished from his country; an exile, refugee.
| 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 67 Who then, but English Henry, will be Lord, And thou be thrust out, like a Fugitiue? 1630 R. Johnson's Kingd. & Commw. 48 Rome..is the Seminary and Nursery of English Fugitives. 1692 Washington tr. Milton's Def. Pop. M.'s Wks. 1738 I. 510 This is what that herd of Fugitives and Vagabonds hired you to write. 1788 Priestley Lect. Hist. v. xxxvi. 265 The Greek fugitives from Constantinople promoted a taste for eloquence. 1836 W. Irving Astoria II. 58 Fugitives from the Spanish and American frontiers. 1855 Milman Lat. Chr. ii. i. (1864) I. 137 The fugitives from Rome were found in all parts of the world. |
† d. One that abandons a monastic life.
Obs.—1| 1482 Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 84 Religyous persons that were fugytyuys that is to sey that ranne oute of her order. |
2. One who shifts about or moves from place to place; a vagabond, wanderer. Applied also to the lower animals.
| 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1684) III. 747 If thou wert an honest Woman, thou wouldest not..run about the Country like a Fugitive. 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 239/1 [A] Fugitive..is a Hawk that rangleth and wandreth abroad. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 159 When the Swarms..idly Stray, Restrain the wanton Fugitives. |
3. Something fugitive; something fleeting, or that eludes the grasp.
Obs. exc. with personification.
| 1683 Pettus Fleta Min. i. (1686) 242 They [light ores] cannot well be brought into compass, for they rise for the most part in the Water, and are fugitives. 1690 Evelyn Mem. (1857) III. 316 You would not exchange your inward consolation, for the return of all those external fugitives you once enjoyed. a 1774 Harte Vis. Death Introd. 48 What Muse but his can Nature's beauties hit, Or catch that airy fugitive, called wit. 1847 Emerson Poems, Ode to Beauty, Thou eternal fugitive, Hovering over all that live. |
Hence
ˈfugitive v. trans. (
nonce-wd.), to make fugitive, drive into exile;
ˈfugitively adv. rare—0, in a fugitive manner (Webster 1864);
ˈfugitiˌvism, the condition of a fugitive;
fugiˈtivity, the quality or state of being fugitive.
| 1843 W. S. Landor Let. 16 Apr. in R. R. Madden Life C'tess Blessington (ed. 2) II. 411 What fugitivities in this lower world of ours! 1864 Greenshield Ann. Lesmahagow vi. 116 Her son Thomas was fugitived in the persecution. 1877 D. M. Wallace Russia xxix. 468 This change in the position of the peasantry..naturally increased fugitivism and vagrancy. |