Avoid
/əˈvɔɪd/noun
To keep away from someone or something; to prevent from happening.
Did you know?“Avoid” entered English through Anglo-French and originally meant not just to dodge something, but to make it void or empty by turning it away from you.
Etymological Timeline
Late Latin
LL
*vacuāre* / *vācuus*
“To empty; empty, vacant”
Vulgar Latin
VL
*evacuāre*
“To make empty, clear out”
Old French
OF
avoidier
“To empty out, clear away; later, to shun or keep away from”
Middle English
ME
avoiden
“To depart from, remove, escape from, shun”
Modern English
EN
avoid
“To keep away from or prevent”