escamoter

French

Etymology

Probably from an old form of Occitan escamotar, from escamar, from Latin squāma (“scale [of a fish]”). Compare Italian squamare (“to scale”). Alternatively from Spanish escamotar, from Latin excommutare.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛs.ka.mɔ.te/

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

escamoter

1. (transitive) to conjure away, to make disappear
2. (by extension, transitive) to snatch, to nick

   Synonym: piquer

   • 1750, Louis-Charles Fougeret de Monbron, Le Cosmopolite, ou Le Citoyen du monde, London, published 1760, page 54:

     Ce petit accident, joint à la perte d’environ quarante sequins que m’avoit escamoté cet aimable compagnon de débauche, rompit tout-à-coup la douce harmonie de nos cœurs ; & notre désunion fut aussi prompte, que notre liaison l’avoit été.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. (transitive) to evade, dodge; to skip (a word, question, etc.)

   Synonym: esquiver

4. (transitive) to retract (landing gear)

Conjugation

Conjugation of escamoter (see also Appendix:French verbs)

infinitive	simple	escamoter
	compound	avoir + past participle
present participle or gerund1	simple	escamotant /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tɑ̃/
	compound	ayant + past participle
past participle		escamoté /ɛs.ka.mɔ.te/
		singular			plural
		first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative		je (j’)	tu	il, elle, on	nous	vous	ils, elles
(simple tenses)	present	escamote /ɛs.ka.mɔt/	escamotes /ɛs.ka.mɔt/	escamote /ɛs.ka.mɔt/	escamotons /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tɔ̃/	escamotez /ɛs.ka.mɔ.te/	escamotent /ɛs.ka.mɔt/
	imperfect	escamotais /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tɛ/	escamotais /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tɛ/	escamotait /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tɛ/	escamotions /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tjɔ̃/	escamotiez /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tje/	escamotaient /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tɛ/
	past historic2	escamotai /ɛs.ka.mɔ.te/	escamotas /ɛs.ka.mɔ.ta/	escamota /ɛs.ka.mɔ.ta/	escamotâmes /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tam/	escamotâtes /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tat/	escamotèrent /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tɛʁ/
	future	escamoterai /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁe/	escamoteras /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁa/	escamotera /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁa/	escamoterons /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁɔ̃/	escamoterez /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁe/	escamoteront /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁɔ̃/
	conditional	escamoterais /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁɛ/	escamoterais /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁɛ/	escamoterait /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁɛ/	escamoterions /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tə.ʁjɔ̃/	escamoteriez /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tə.ʁje/	escamoteraient /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tʁɛ/
(compound tenses)	present perfect	present indicative of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect	imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle
	past anterior2	past historic of avoir + past participle
	future perfect	future of avoir + past participle
	conditional perfect	conditional of avoir + past participle
subjunctive		que je (j’)	que tu	qu’il, qu’elle	que nous	que vous	qu’ils, qu’elles
(simple tenses)	present	escamote /ɛs.ka.mɔt/	escamotes /ɛs.ka.mɔt/	escamote /ɛs.ka.mɔt/	escamotions /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tjɔ̃/	escamotiez /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tje/	escamotent /ɛs.ka.mɔt/
	imperfect2	escamotasse /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tas/	escamotasses /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tas/	escamotât /ɛs.ka.mɔ.ta/	escamotassions /ɛs.ka.mɔ.ta.sjɔ̃/	escamotassiez /ɛs.ka.mɔ.ta.sje/	escamotassent /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tas/
(compound tenses)	past	present subjunctive of avoir + past participle
	pluperfect2	imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle
imperative		–	tu	–	nous	vous	–
simple		—	escamote /ɛs.ka.mɔt/	—	escamotons /ɛs.ka.mɔ.tɔ̃/	escamotez /ɛs.ka.mɔ.te/	—
compound		—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	simple imperative of avoir + past participle	—
1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en.
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way: past historic → present perfect past anterior → pluperfect imperfect subjunctive → present subjunctive pluperfect subjunctive → past subjunctive (Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81).

Derived terms

• escamotage
• escamoteur

Further reading

• “escamoter”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.