Fugacious
/fjuˈɡeɪ.ʃəs/noun
Lasting only a very short time; fleeting or transitory.
Did you know?The same root birthed 'fugue states' in psychology, where the mind flees the body—ancient linguists captured dissociative 'flight' millennia ago.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bheug-
“to flee”
c. 500 BCE
Lat
fugere
“to flee, run away”
Classical Latin
Lat
fugāx
“flying, apt to flee, volatile”
Post-classical Latin
Lat
fugācis
“of fleeing, fleeting”
1620s
Eng
fugacious
“disposed to fly away”
18th Century
Eng
fugacious
“ephemeral, short-lived”
Modern English
Eng
fugacious
“transitory, fleeting”
Explore more surprising origins