Fugitive comes from Old French fugitif, from Latin fugitivus ('fleeing, runaway'), from fugere ('to flee'). The form is best read as a historical transfer or inheritance, with its older language material carrying the main semantic load. As a noun and adjective, it denotes "a person who flees, especially from the law; fleeting", keeping the historical idea close to its dictionary sense. Relevant historical forms include Latin fugitīvus and Latin fugere. Derivative forms include fugitively, fugitiveness; related words include fugacious, refuge, subterfuge, centrifugal.