about
Part of speech: prep
adv
adj
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: nautical
transport
Etymology: Etymology tree
Proto-Germanic *ana-
Proto-West Germanic *ana-
Old English on-?
Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.
Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.
Proto-Indo-European *h₁epider.
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”), itself from be (“by”) + ūtan (“outside”). Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”).
Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).
Base: on
Inflected forms:
form: aboot
pos: prep
tags: alternative
Northumbria
form: abowt
pos: prep
tags: alternative
form: a.
pos: prep
tags: alternative
form: ab.
pos: prep
tags: alternative
form: abt.
pos: prep
tags: alternative
form: aboot
pos: adv
tags: alternative
Northumbria
form: abowt
pos: adv
tags: alternative
form: a.
pos: adv
tags: alternative
form: ab.
pos: adv
tags: alternative
form: abt.
pos: adv
tags: alternative
form: aboot
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Northumbria
form: abowt
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: a.
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: ab.
pos: adj
tags: alternative
form: abt.
pos: adj
tags: alternative
Senses:
gloss: In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of; around.
pos: prep
examples: The snake was coiled about his ankle.
So look about you; know you any here?
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
Pagondas […] sent two companies of horse secretly about the hill; whereby that wing of the Athenians which was victorious, apprehending upon their sudden appearing that they had been a fresh army, was put into affright:[…]
[…] for they could not get about the cape, because the wind on this coast is commonly between the NW. and SW., which makes it very difficult getting to the westward; but they left four canoes with forty-six men at the cape,[…]
The Roman soldier found Me lying dead, my crown about my brows, […]
She looked about her again, and at last there he was, descending the steep path toward the station. He was half a mile off, and before she could decide what to do, a train came up and stopped.
Nothing daunted, the fleet put to sea, and after sailing about the island for some time, a landing was effected in the west of Munster.
The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. […] Roaring, leaping, pouncing, the tempest raged about the wanderers, drowning and blotting out their forms with sandy spume.
There is no controversy […] that the plaintiff […] fell into the ditch and was severely injured; [and] that the defendant or its agents left no railing about the excavation : And it quite clearly appears that a person coming from the house of the plaintiff, as she did, to cross the pavement in front of her lot, could not see any light or other signal to warn her of danger[…]
She looked about her. Desolation everywhere - on the dust-encrusted windows, on the discolored walls, the rotten planks of the floor, the fallen bricks of the fireplace - desolation utter and complete.
As soon as church was out a group of people gathered about her, all curious to hear how she was getting on with the boy.
gloss: Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.
pos: prep
examples: Rubbish was strewn about the place.
The children were running about the room.
He was well known about town.
[I]n likeneſs of a Dove / The Spirit deſcended, while the Fathers voice / From Heav'n pronounc'd him his beloved Son. / That heard the Adverſary, who roving ſtill / About the world, at that aſſembly fam'd / Would not be laſt, […]
He had been known, during several years, as a small poet; and some of the most savage lampoons which were handed about the coffeehouses were imputed to him.
where lies thy pain? And where my liege's? all about the breast.
Some Roman Catholics about the court had, indiscreetly or artfully, told all, and more than all, that they knew. The Tory Churchmen waited anxiously for fuller information.
She travelled about the country with a donkey and cart, selling silk and linen goods. Her great stature enabled her to be her own protector, and any liberties which were attempted to be taken with herself or her wares were sure to be answered by a beating.
[…] to wander about the old place, climb the old walls, and explore the old passages, always dreaming of the days when the castle was noisy with men-at-arms, and gay with knights and ladies.
gloss: Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something.
pos: prep
gloss: Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something.
pos: prep
tags: dialectal
obsolete
examples: [It] was held, that the latter requirement was fulfilled by an affidavit declaring that "the defendant was about leaving the State permanently."
gloss: Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of.
pos: prep
examples: He talked a lot about his childhood.
We must do something about this problem.
He is very mad about all the pranks.
Doe you meane to stoppe any of Williams wages, about the Sacke he lost the other day?
I already have made way / To some Philistian lords, with whom to treat / About thy ransom.
There have been violent quarrels about whether the whole is greater than a part.
[It was doubtful that] twenty governments, divided by quarrels about precedence, quarrels about territory, quarrels about trade, quarrels about religion, could long act together in perfect harmony.
"I'll tell you what, Fanny: she must have her way about Sarah Thompson. You can see her to-morrow and tell her so."
I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.
Lucy Thompson, a Yurok woman who wrote a book about her experiences in the early twentieth century, reported that bilingualism was especially common at the religious dances, where neighboring groups often poured in from distant villages speaking utterly different languages.
Private-equity nabobs bristle at being dubbed mere financiers. Piling debt onto companies’ balance-sheets is only a small part of what leveraged buy-outs are about, they insist. Improving the workings of the businesses they take over is just as core to their calling, if not more so. Much of their pleading is public-relations bluster.
... look at it properly, her hands are the worst thing about her, visibly, anyway - they're filthy, as are the fingernails, broken and jagged and dark yellow from nicotine, the nicotine stain seems to go right into the palm[…]
Well, let’s not talk about yesterday.
[F]ootball is about more than making plays on the field. It is about making them off the field as well. Our commitment to fans and the communities that support us does not end when the final seconds tick off the game clock […]
... something particularly imaginative about comparative work, however one construes the term “comparison.”[…]
gloss: Concerned or occupied with; engaged in; intent on.
pos: prep
examples: just going about their business
Have you much hay about?
“What’s Mary doin'?” “Oh! oo’s about th’ butter.”
... these Machines ... must be the Work of one, who knew what he was about. And what is it, to work, and know what one is about? Tis to have an Idea of what one is doing; to possess A FORM INTERNAL, correspondent to the EXTERNAL,[…]
And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
RON: And I’ll have the number 8.
WAITER: That’s a party platter, it serves 12 people.
RON: I know what I’m about, son.
I really want to know what he's about, so I've arranged a date with him to hear him out.
gloss: Within or in the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place.
pos: prep
examples: I can’t find my reading glasses, but they must be somewhere about the house.
John’s in the garden, probably somewhere about the woodshed.
Carausius was born of mean parentage about Cleves in Germany, he rose in the Army by his bravery, and was appointed [...] Governor of Bononia or Bolougne in France, and Admiral […]
The Saffron Crocus (C. sativus) grows in meadows about Essex, where it is cultivated for its fragrant stigmas, which constitute saffron.
... small dipterous insects, which are abundant about the heaps of sea-weed.
[…] if there be any number of equiangular triangles, the sides about the equal angles are proportionals.
gloss: On one’s person; nearby the person.
pos: prep
examples: I had no weapon about me but a stick.
The policy covers all belongings and other personal things that somebody can carry about them.
At this assurance the traveller rose, and approached Alice softly. He drew away her hands from her face, when she said gently, "Have you much money about you?" / "Oh the mercenary baggage!" said the traveller to himself; and then replied aloud, "Why, pretty one?—Do you sell your kisses so high, then?"
gloss: On or near (one's person); attached as an attribute to; in the makeup of, or at the command of.
pos: prep
tags: figuratively
examples: He has his wits about him.
There was an air of confidence about the woman.
Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.[…]A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, together with a huge gold stirrup in his Ascot tie, sufficiently proclaimed his tastes. […] But withal there was a perceptible acumen about the man which was puzzling in the extreme.
And there is a mature wisdom about him which, without being new, is newly refreshed. I did not know how profoundly my emotional loyalties were engaged to him until these days. Our plans are simple. We stay here until Thursday; then Amherst[…]
... there was a mature air about him that also suggested vacationing professional. He wore a button-down, collared shirt open a few more interesting buttons than most, revealing a small spatter of blondish-reddish hair on a broad chest[…]
gloss: On all sides, or in every or any direction from a point; around.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: I looked about at the scenery that surrounded me.
Why, then, I see, ’tis time to look about, / When every boy Alphonsus dares control.
all the blessings / Of a glad father compass thee about
Dunkerk is […] well-built and populous, strongly fortified all about where it is capable: only toward the Downs or sandy Hills on the Southwest side of the Town, though there had been much Cost bestowed in raising Forts, yet were they almost filled up and spoiled with Sand driven in by the force of stormy Winds, against which it will be very hard to secure any Fort that shall be there erected.
And from the middle Darkness flashing out, By fits he deals his fiery Bolts about. Earth feels the Motions of her angry God, Her Entrails tremble, and her Mountains nod;[…]
gloss: Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: Bits of old machinery were lying about.
... the tocsins of immemorial strife were sounding all about, the fierce old bell pealing out its periodical summons from the airy heights of the Palazzo Vecchio, and armed men, fierce and furious, swarming about the streets.
Feathers were strewn about—white feathers! With them were several splotches of dried blood splattered across the dirt. Matthew's heart sank. He knew whose feathers those were! Something terrible had happened here.
gloss: From one place or position to another in succession; indicating repeated movement or activity.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: walking about;  rushing about;  jumping about;  thrashing about
1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, 1 Timothy, v,13,
And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
He and Gerald usually challenged the rollers in a sponson canoe when Gerald was there for the weekend; or, when Lansing came down, the two took long swims seaward or cruised about in Gerald's dory, clad in their swimming-suits; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous,[…].
He bustled about and about, speaking to every one, but declined listening for a single moment to any.
She was [...] moving furniture about, and marching into the apartment at the front even before the tenants had left.
gloss: Indicating unproductive or unstructured activity.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: messing about;  fooling about;  loafing about
gloss: Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: It’s about as cold as it was last winter.
He owes me about three hundred dollars.
Dinner’s about ready.
I was so scared, I about fainted.
I’ll see you at about 4 o'clock; I'll see you about a year from now.
The next conference will be held about a year from now in a venue about six miles from here.
Therefore I know she is about my height.
1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Matthew, xx, 3,
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace
Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
“Heavens!” exclaimed Nina, “the blue-stocking and the fogy!—and yours are pale blue, Eileen!—you’re about as self-conscious as Drina—slumping there with your hair tumbling à la Mérode! Oh, it's very picturesque, of course, but a straight spine and good grooming is better.[…]”
I told him about everything I could think of; and what I couldn't think of he did. He asked about six questions during my yarn, but every question had a point to it. At the end he bowed and thanked me once more. As a thanker he was main-truck high; I never see anybody so polite.
In about every one of these works I have pleaded the cause of the working people; and I shall now see that cause triumph, in spite of all that can be done to prevent it.
[…] about the hour of closing, we observed the sudden egress of about a hundred women from the establishment, all Irish, and all decently clad and well conducted. On inquiry, we found that they are employed continuously in the works, piling the lead for oxidation,[…]
[H]e is about the most ignorant Rector within the four seas.
The civilian proved to be a boy of about sixteen in knee pants.
[The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […].
I was about to leave when the door swung open, revealing a woman about my height with straight, light brown hair and sad eyes. "Can I help you?"
gloss: Near; in the vicinity.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: I looked round at the people standing about, and observed them curiously in their peculiar relation to it all.
gloss: To a reversed order, direction, or condition; half round; in (or to, or from) the opposite direction.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: to face about;  to turn oneself about
Mr. Carter, whose back had been turned, turned about and faced his niece.
Dykhuizen has the story the other way about, that Dewey decided in 1939 that he wished no longer to continue as "Emeritus Professor in Residence" and so informed Columbia in the knowledge that this would involve a substantial reduction in his income.
I am sorry to hear of his illness. But I know she will bring him about. And if I smile, it is not out of disregard for your worries but only because mine are somewhat eased. I am relieved to know why I have not heard from her.
gloss: To a reversed order, direction, or condition; half round; in (or to, or from) the opposite direction.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
examples: We went about and headed offshore.
Before he goeth about, he will shoot off a piece; and, being about, will put forth another light, upon the poop […]
gloss: In succession, one after another.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
obsolete
rare
examples: When he had finished, he drew his plaid around his head, and went slowly down to the little dell, where he used every day to offer up his morning and evening prayers, and where we have often sat together on Sabbath afternoons, reading verse about with our children in the Bible.
gloss: In rotation or revolution.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
obsolete
rare
examples: What an Arme he has, he turn'd me about with his finger and his thumbe, as one would set up a Top.
Prithee, do not turn me about; my stomach is not constant.
"turn and turn about is fair play : you saw the rat that was killed in the parlor." "Turn about [is] fair play, indeed!" cried the cat. "Then all of you get to your spits; I am sure that is turn about!" "Nay, "said the turnspits, wagging their tails and laughing. "That is over and over again,which is not fair play. 'T is the coffee-mill that is turn and turn about."
I was driving by myself. The only hard part was shifting, I did grind the gears a few times until I got used to it. I practiced going about in circles and backing in and out of the barn.
gloss: In the course of events.
pos: adv
tags: not-comparable
obsolete
possibly
examples: to bring about, to come about
gloss: In circuit or circumference; circularly.
pos: adv
tags: archaic
not-comparable
examples: The island was a mile about, and a third of a mile across.
Indeede I am in the waste two yards about.
... a more easie way, though it were farther about.
... the sure way, though most about, to make gold, is to know the causes of the several natures before rehearsed, […]
gloss: By a circuitous way; circuitously.
pos: adv
tags: archaic
not-comparable
examples: God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea.
gloss: Moving around or in motion; astir.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: out and about;  up and about
After my bout with Guillan-Barre Syndrome, it took me 6 months to be up and about again.
'John, I have observed that you are often out and about of nights, sometimes as late as half past seven or eight.[…]'
About, my Braine!
About, about; Search Windsor Castle, elves, within and out.
... the building of St. James's by my Lord St. Albans, which is now about (and which the City stomach I perceive highly, but dare not oppose it,) were it now to be done, it would not be done for a million of money.
gloss: In existence; being in evidence; apparent.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: This idea has been about for a while but has only recently become fashionable.
To my mind, transportation engineering is similar to flying in the 1930s — it has been about for some time but it has taken the present economic jolt to shake it out of its infancy, in the same way that the war started the development of flying to its current stage.
Although it has been about for some time now, I like the typeface Sauna.
2006, Great Britain Parliament: House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, Energy: Meeting With Malcolm Wicks MP,
Is not this sudden interest in capturing CO₂ — and it has been about for a little while — simply another hidey-hole for the government to creep into?
gloss: Near; in the vicinity or neighbourhood.
pos: adj
tags: not-comparable
examples: I had my keys just a minute ago, so they must be about somewhere.
Watch out, there's a thief about.
Synonyms: about
anent
apropos
apropos of
as far as
as for
as regards
as relates to
as respects
as to
concerned with
connected with
concerning
dealing with
in reference to
in regard to
in regards to
in relation to
in respect of
IRT
in terms of
on
re
referring to
regarding
relating to
relative to
respecting
with regard to
with respect to
WRT
touching
around
Antonyms: by the by
by the way
irrespective of
malapropos
in passing
regardless of
Translations:
lang: Danish
word: omkring
lang: Dutch
word: om-
lang: Dutch
word: in tegenovergestelde richting
lang: Esperanto
word: returnen
lang: Finnish
word: ympäri
lang: Korean
word: 거꾸로
roman: geokkuro
lang: Macedonian
word: о́братно
roman: óbratno
lang: Old English
word: wiþersīnes
lang: Polish
word: wstecz
lang: Russian
word: обра́тно
roman: obrátno
lang: Slovene
word: o
lang: Tamil
word: சுற்று
roman: cuṟṟu