English
knockabout
Deverbal from knock about.
Proto-Indo-European *gnew- ‘to squeeze, pinch, ball up’
…
Proto-Germanic *knukōną ‘to knock’
Proto-West Germanic *knokōn
Old English cnocian ‘to knock, pound on, beat’
Middle English knokken
English knock
Proto-Indo-European *úd ‘upwards’
…
Proto-West Germanic *biūtan ‘outside’
Proto-West Germanic *andabiūtan
Old English onbūtan ‘about, around’
Middle English aboute ‘around’
English about
Today it means
adj Boisterous
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / knockabout