Alphadictionary.com
AbsquatulateVerb, intransitive
Pronunciation: ahb-sqwah-chuh-layt
Absquatulate is to take off, bug out, hit the road, make tracks, to blow, get lost and, maybe even to abscond with something.
As you can see in the definition of this word, you don't need squat to absquatulate. In fact, there is quite a bit of disagreement over exactly what this verb actually means. The only sure meaning is what we see in the definition above. The word has been Latinized enough to presume a family of relations like absquatulation, absquatulator, and absquatulative. Just remember that all of them are facetious.
If you find it difficult to get someone to leave you alone and you want to get their attention, try: "Benny, I'm tired of telling you to leave me alone; now, absquatulate before I do something drastic." The word itself should frighten Benny away. Since this word begins with the prefix ab- "away (from)," it has been used in the sense of "abscond": "Duffy seems to have absquatulated with my date while I was in the bathroom; would you like to dance?" Probably not with anyone who talks like that.
Absquatulate was dreamed up in the middle of the 19th century by connecting the Latin prefix ab- "away (from)" to the English verb squat and a couple more Latin suffixes to make it sound highly technical: legal or medical, I would say. 19th century America produced a lot of fake Latin words, including argufy, citify, uppity, stick-to-it-ive, and so on. This funny word is simply another added to the pile. They reflect the deep-running American suspicion of technical or ‘fancy’ language.
<< The 100 Most Beautiful Words in English
<< The 100 Funniest Words in English