English
about
About comes from Middle English aboute ‘around’, from Old English onbūtan ‘about, around’ (on + būtan ‘outside’), from Proto-West Germanic *andabiūtan, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *úd ‘out’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*úd‘upwards’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ūt‘out’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ūtōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*ūtanreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*biūtan‘outside’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*andabiūtanreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150onbūtan‘about, around’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aboute‘around’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591about
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*úd‘upwards’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ūt‘out’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ūtōreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*ūtanreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*biūtan‘outside’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*andabiūtanreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150onbūtan‘about, around’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500aboute‘around’
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1591about
Earliest quotation: c. 1590–1591, William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona: “Therefore I know she is about my height.”
Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- ‘on’
Proto-Germanic *an ‘on’
Proto-West Germanic *ana
Old English on ‘on’
Middle English on ‘on’
English on
Proto-Germanic *beuną ‘to be’
Proto-West Germanic *beun
Old English bēon ‘to be’
Middle English been ‘to be’
English be
Proto-Indo-European *úd ‘upwards, away’
Proto-Germanic *ūt ‘out’
Proto-West Germanic *ūt ‘out’
Old English ūt ‘out’
Middle English out
English out
The story
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. Not related to bout (‘period of time’)
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *úd ‘upwards, away, out, outward’
awaken, amaze, uterus, hubris, uterine, aghast, outwardly, outwards, hysteresis, 6 more
through Proto-Germanic *ūt ‘out, outward’
through Old English būtan ‘outside of’
Today it means
prep In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of; around.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *úd / about