Unnumbered source etymology
Original entry ↗adv
On all sides, or in every or any direction from a point; around. · Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down. · From one place or position to another in succession; indicating repeated movement or activity. · Indicating unproductive or unstructured activity.
verb
To change the course of (a ship) to the other tack; to bring (a ship) about. · To about-face (turn 180 degrees, like a soldier).
adj
Moving around or in motion; astir. · In existence; being in evidence; apparent. · Near; in the vicinity or neighbourhood.
prep
Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventoryIn a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of; around. · Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout. · See about to. · On the point or verge of.
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *ana- Proto-West Germanic *ana- Old English on-? Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder. Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider. Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi Proto-Germanic *bi Proto-West Germanic *bī Proto-West Germanic *bi- Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-West Germanic *ūtō Proto-West Germanic *ūtan Proto-West Germanic *biūtan Old English būtan Old English onbūtan Middle English aboute English about Preposition and adverb from Middle English aboute, abouten, from Old English abūtan, onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”) (compare modern English but, bout), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”); equivalent to on + be + out or on + but. Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”). Not related to bout (“period of time”) Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Inherited-form mentionabouteenm
- Inherited-form mentionabūtanang
- Word-formation componentonang · in, on
- Word-formation componentbūtanang · outside of
- Word-formation componentbeang · by
- Word-formation componentūtanang · outside
- Compound componentonen
- Compound componentbeen
- Compound componentouten
- Compound componentbuten
- Cognate mentionabûtaofs · outside; except
- Inherited-form mentionaboutenm
This page abbreviates 14 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:aboute<id:preposition>",
"id": "preposition",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *ana-\nProto-West Germanic *ana-\nOld English on-?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁épider.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁pi\nProto-Germanic *bi\nProto-West Germanic *bī\nProto-West Germanic *bi-\nProto-Indo-European *úd\nProto-Germanic *ūt\nProto-West Germanic *ūtō\nProto-West Germanic *ūtan\nProto-West Germanic *biūtan\nOld English būtan\nOld English onbūtan\nMiddle English aboute\nEnglish about\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ana-\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"on-\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" }, { \"id\" : \"preposition\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*h₁éps\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"der.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Derived from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁ep-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁épi\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"derived\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*h₁pi\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bi\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bī\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*bi-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" }, { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*úd\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ūt\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ūtō\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ūtan\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*biūtan\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"būtan\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"onbūtan\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"aboute\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"about\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-id=\"preposition\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"about\" id=\"English:_preposition\">"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "aboute"
},
"expansion": "Middle English aboute"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "abūtan"
},
"expansion": "Old English abūtan"
},
{
"name": "af",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "on",
"3": "būtan",
"t1": "in, on",
"t2": "outside of",
"nocat": "1"
},
"expansion": "on (“in, on”) + būtan (“outside of”)"
},
{
"name": "m+",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "but"
},
"expansion": "English but"
},
{
"name": "af",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "be",
"3": "ūtan",
"t1": "by",
"t2": "outside",
"nocat": "1"
},
"expansion": "be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”)"
},
{
"name": "compound",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "on",
"3": "be",
"4": "out",
"nocat": "1"
},
"expansion": "on + be + out"
},
{
"name": "compound",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "on",
"3": "but",
"nocat": "1"
},
"expansion": "on + but"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ofs",
"2": "abûta",
"t": "outside; except"
},
"expansion": "Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”)"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "about",
"pos": "adverb"
},
"expansion": "Middle English about (adverb)"
},
{
"name": "etymon",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": ":inh",
"3": "enm:aboute<id:preposition>",
"id": "preposition",
"tree": "1"
},
"expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Germanic *ana-\nProto-West Germanic *ana-\nOld English on-?\nProto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁épider.\nProto-Indo-European *h₁pi\nProto-Germanic *bi\nProto-West Germanic *bī\nProto-West Germanic *bi-\nProto-Indo-European *úd\nProto-Germanic *ūt\nProto-West Germanic *ūtō\nProto-West Germanic *ūtan\nProto-West Germanic *biūtan\nOld English būtan\nOld English onbūtan\nMiddle English aboute\nEnglish about"
}
],
"links": [
[
"*ana-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ana-#Proto-Germanic:_prefix"
],
[
"*ana-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ana-#Proto-West_Germanic:_prefix"
],
[
"on-",
"on-#Old_English:_prefix"
],
[
"*h₁ep-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁ep-"
],
[
"*h₁épi",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁épi"
],
[
"*h₁pi",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁pi"
],
[
"*bi",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/bi"
],
[
"*bī",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/bī"
],
[
"*bi-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/bi-"
],
[
"*úd",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/úd"
],
[
"*ūt",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūt"
],
[
"*ūtō",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ūtō"
],
[
"*ūtan",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ūtan"
],
[
"*biūtan",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/biūtan"
],
[
"būtan",
"butan#Old_English:_preposition"
],
[
"onbūtan",
"onbutan#Old_English:_preposition"
],
[
"aboute",
"aboute#Middle_English:_preposition"
],
[
"aboute",
"aboute#Middle_English"
],
[
"abouten",
"abouten#Middle_English"
],
[
"abūtan",
"abutan#Old_English"
],
[
"onbūtan",
"onbutan#Old_English"
],
[
"on",
"on#Old_English"
],
[
"būtan",
"butan#Old_English"
],
[
"but",
"but#English"
],
[
"bout",
"bout#English"
],
[
"be",
"be#Old_English"
],
[
"ūtan",
"utan#Old_English"
],
[
"on",
"on#English"
],
[
"be",
"be#English"
],
[
"out",
"out#English"
],
[
"on",
"on#English"
],
[
"but",
"but#English"
],
[
"abûta",
"abuta#Old_Frisian"
],
[
"bout",
"bout#English"
],
[
"about",
"about#Middle_English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "adv",
"glosses": [
"On all sides, or in every or any direction from a point; around.",
"Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.",
"From one place or position to another in succession; indicating repeated movement or activity.",
"Indicating unproductive or unstructured activity."
],
"tags": [
"not-comparable"
],
"recordId": "b40986b7b6773a44d470b8243d8224eb87a8ae99b6b8d87689d194e157230a86",
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"sourceRecordOrdinal": 1936
},
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To change the course of (a ship) to the other tack; to bring (a ship) about.",
"To about-face (turn 180 degrees, like a soldier)."
],
"tags": [
"uncommon",
"humorous",
"possibly"
],
"recordId": "c6becd16f0bf6fcd7346f3bfef635be40dcac7f4a2b007cba4010df6bcd4b64c",
"rawRecordSha256": "422b5c613ce4b8a76de3031c4ff67adb49dd022f43af30e13a459a9cb9627c41",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 1938
},
{
"pos": "adj",
"glosses": [
"Moving around or in motion; astir.",
"In existence; being in evidence; apparent.",
"Near; in the vicinity or neighbourhood."
],
"tags": [
"not-comparable"
],
"recordId": "f30ebc1793fe0b51df7ed1092228dfcfdb9c4e75f3745f42d845e536667b5390",
"rawRecordSha256": "c95b536355dcf44cc4e9055d181814760d3b78882b78220125a543b2aff1ad90",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 1937
},
{
"pos": "prep",
"glosses": [
"In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of; around.",
"Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.",
"See about to.",
"On the point or verge of."
],
"tags": [
"dialectal",
"obsolete"
],
"recordId": "fefc284b9631aef667e547f5a0680ecefbab94dafe521d79895810dc2c88a6b1",
"rawRecordSha256": "484dcbf201999ea72492f430c75caf234db05ff316523e7074fe234bf9d3e9aa",
"sourceRecordOrdinal": 1935
}
],
"omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
"templates": 0,
"links": 0,
"references": 0,
"descendants": 0,
"lexicalRecords": 0,
"lexicalSenses": 14,
"glosses": 0
}
}