Kakeochi (駆け落ち - Elope)

Have you ever been opposed by your parents about your association with your girlfriend/boyfriend?

In such a case, you might want to escape with only two people to a distant place where parents don't know.

This act of escaping with two people is called "kakeochi" (駆け落ち) in Japan.
(It seems to be called "elope" in English.)

"Kakeochi" was once written as "欠け落ち," here "欠け" (kake) means "lack" and "落ち" (ochi) means "fall," so it meant to just escape/withdraw from a group.

Later, "駆け" (kake), which means "run," has come to be used instead of "欠け," and it has come to mainly mean that a couple escape to a distant place secretly.

駆け落ち

あなたは親に交際を反対されたことがありますか？

そのような場合には、親に知られないように相手と二人で遠い土地に逃げ出したくなるかもしれません。

この二人で逃げ出す行為を、日本語で「駆け落ち」と言います。

「駆け落ち」はかつては「欠け落ち」と書き、集団から逃げ出すことを意味していました。

後に他の土地に「駆け込む」ことを意味する「駆け」の字が使われるようになり、主に男女が密かに遠い土地に逃げ出すことを指すようになりました。