Escapology

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɛs.kəˌpɒl.ə.dʒiː/

Definitions

1. The craft of self-liberation from physical restraints or confinement is a specialized practice that involves creative methods for achieving freedom from captivity or locks
2. The discipline involving the methods of freeing oneself from various restraints encompasses both performance and practical escape techniques
3. The skill or art of freeing oneself from devices such as handcuffs, chains, or locked enclosures through specialized techniques

Etymology: Harry Houdini is the man most associated with this word, though he did not coin it. The term was popularised in the early twentieth century by the escape artists who performed feats of freeing themselves from chains, boxes and water tanks, and it became a fixture of stage vocabulary as their act grew into a genre of its own. The construction is simple. "Escape" comes from Old French "escaper", which goes back to Latin roots meaning "out of" and "cloak" or "cape", so the original sense was slipping out of a garment. The suffix "-ology" comes from Ancient Greek "lógos", meaning "word", "reason" or "study", and in English it signals a field of study or body of knowledge, as in "biology" or "geology". Put together, "escapology" follows the pattern of a learned-sounding field, applied playfully to the craft of getting out of confinement. The suffix gives the word a mock-scientific tone, which suits a profession that was always part showmanship and part technical discipline.