† ascapev.

Etymology: The common form of escape v. in Middle English, found down to 1523, due to phonetic levelling of proclitic ĕ- and ă- : see a- prefix¹ Anglo-Norman itself had occasionally ascaper for escaper . Already in 13th cent. it was aphetized to scape v.¹, in common use in all ages, and still a poetic form, though now written as a conscious contraction 'scape for e)scape . Compare also atscape v., ofscape v., aschape v.