English
layabout
From lay + about.
Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- ‘to lie’
…
Proto-Germanic *lagjaną ‘to lay’
Proto-West Germanic *laggjan ‘to lay’
Old English leċġan ‘to lay’
Middle English leyen ‘to lay’
English lay
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
noun A lazy person.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / layabout