about

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See also: à bout

English

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 about on Wikipedia

Alternative forms

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  • (archaic) abowt; (abbreviation) a., (abbreviation) ab.,* (abbreviation) abt.

Etymology

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    Etymology tree
    Proto-Germanic *ana-
    Proto-West Germanic *ana-
    Old English on-?
    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,[1] onbūtan, from on (“in, on”) +‎ būtan (“outside of”),[2] itself from be (“by”) +‎ ūtan (“outside”).[3] Cognate with Old Frisian abûta (“outside; except”).

    Adjective from Middle English about (adverb).

    Pronunciation

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    Preposition

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    about

    1. In a circle around; all round; on every side of; on the outside of. [from before 1150][2]
      The snake was coiled about his ankle.
      • c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
        So look about you; know you any here?
      • 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Proverbs, iii, 3
        Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
      • 1886, Duncan Keith, A history of Scotland: civil and ecclesiastical from the earliest times to the death of David I, 1153, volume 1:
        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.
      • 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid:
        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.
    2. Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout. [from ca. 1150–1350][2]
      Rubbish was strewn about the place.
      The children were running about the room.
      He was well known about town.
    3. Indicates that something will happen very soon; indicates a plan or intention to do something.
      1. (with 'to' and verb infinitive) See about to.
      2. (with present participle, obsolete or dialect) On the point or verge of.
        • 1866, Charles Daniel Drake, A treatise on the law of suits by attachment in the United States, page 80:
          [It] was held, that the latter requirement was fulfilled by an affidavit declaring that "the defendant was about leaving the State permanently."
    4. Concerning; with regard to; on account of; on the subject of; to affect. [from ca. 1150–1350][2]
      Synonyms: apropos, as for; see also Thesaurus:about
      He talked a lot about his childhood.
      We must do something about this problem.
      • 1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes:
        I already have made way / To some Philistian lords, with whom to treat / About thy ransom.
      • 1856, Voltaire, Philosophical dictionary:
        There have been violent quarrels about whether the whole is greater than a part.
      • 1860, Anthony Trollope, Framley Parsonage:
        "I'll tell you what, Fanny: she must have her way about Sarah Thompson. You can see her to-morrow and tell her so."
      • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
        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.
      • 2013 June 22, “Engineers of a different kind”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 70:
        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.
      • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
        Well, let’s not talk about yesterday.
        Audio (US):(file)
    5. Concerned with; engaged in; intent on. [from ca. 1150–1350][2]
      to be about one’s business
      Have you much hay about? (Chester) ― Have you much in the process of making?[4]
      “What’s Mary doin'?” “Oh! oo’s about th’ butter.” (Chester) ― “What’s Mary doing?” “Oh, she’s making the butter.”[4]
      • 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Luke, ii, 49
        And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?
      • 2013 March 14, Parks and Recreation, season 5, episode 16, Bailout:
        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.
    6. Within or in the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place. [from ca. 1350–1470][2]
      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.
    7. On one’s person; nearby the person. [from ca. 1350–1470][2]
      I had no weapon about me but a stick.
      • 1837, [Edward Bulwer-Lytton], Ernest Maltravers […] , volume I, London: Saunders and Otley, […], →OCLC, book I, page 16:
        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?"
    8. (figurative) In or near, as in mental faculties or (literally) in the possession of; under the control of; at one's command; in one's makeup. [from ca. 1350–1470][2]
      He has his wits about him.
      There was an air of confidence about the woman.
      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter II, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
        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.

    Usage notes

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    • (Indicates that something will happen very soon): In modern English, always followed by an infinitive that begins with to ("I am about to bathe"); see about to. In the past, it was possible to instead follow the about with the present participle ("I am about swimming"), but this format is no longer used or widely understood.
    • (concerning): Used as a function word to indicate what is dealt with as the object of thought, feeling, or action.

    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Adverb

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    about (not comparable)

    1. On all sides; around. [from before 1150[2]]
      I looked about at the scenery that surrounded me.
    2. Here and there; around; in one place and another; up and down. [from before 1150[2]]
      Bits of old machinery were lying about.
    3. From one place or position to another in succession; indicating repeated movement or activity.
      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.
      • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
        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, […].
    4. Indicating unproductive or unstructured activity.
      messing about;  fooling about;  loafing about
    5. Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence in quality, manner, degree, quantity, or time; almost. [from before 1150[2]]
      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.
      • c. 1590–1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
        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
      • 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Exodus, ix, 18
        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.
      • 1769, King James Bible, Oxford Standard text, Exodus, xxxii,28:
        And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men.
      • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter IX, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
        “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. […]”
      • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
        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.
      • 2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845:
        [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,  […] .
    6. Near; in the vicinity. [from ca. 1350–1470[2]]
    7. To a reversed order; half round; facing in the opposite direction; from a contrary point of view. [from ca. 1350–1470[2]]
      to face about;  to turn oneself about
      1. (nautical) To the opposite tack: see go about. [from late 15th c.[2]]
        We went about and headed offshore.
    8. (obsolete or rare) In succession; one after another; in the course of events. [from before 1150[2]]
      • 1818, James Hogg, published in The Scots Magazine, Vol. 86, p. 218, "On the Life and Writings of James Hogg" [1] [Quoted in the OED]
        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.
    9. (archaic) In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; in circumference. [from ca. 1350–1470[2]]
      The island was a mile about, and a third of a mile across.

    Synonyms

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    Translations

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    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked
    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
    Translations to be checked

    Adjective

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    about (not comparable)

    1. Moving around; astir.
      out and about;  up and about
      After my bout with Guillan-Barre Syndrome, it took me 6 months to be up and about again.
    2. In existence; being in evidence; apparent.
      This idea has been about for a while but has only recently become fashionable.
      • 1975, IPC Building & Contract Journals Ltd, Highways & road construction, volume 43:
        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.
      • 2005, IDG Communications, Digit, numbers 89-94:
        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?
    3. Near; in the vicinity or neighbourhood.
      I had my keys just a minute ago, so they must be about somewhere.
      Watch out, there's a thief about.

    Synonyms

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    Derived terms

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    terms derived from about (any part of speech)

    See also: Category:English phrasal verbs formed with "about"

    References

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    1. ^ Philip Babcock Gove (editor), Webster's Third International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (G. & C. Merriam Co., 1976 [1909], →ISBN), page 5
    2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief, William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors (2002), “about”, in The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 7.
    3. ^ Christine A. Lindberg, editor (2002), “about”, in The Oxford College Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.: Spark Publishing, →ISBN, page 4.
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Robert Holland, M.R.A.C., A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Chester, Part I--A to F., English Dialect Society, London, 1884, 2

    Anagrams

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    Finnish

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    Alternative forms

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    Etymology

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    Unadapted borrowing from English about

    Pronunciation

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    • IPA(key): /ˈøbɑut/, [ˈø̞bɑ̝ut̪]
    • IPA(key): /ˈəbɑu̯t/, [ˈəbɑ̝u̯t̪]
    • IPA(key): /ˈɑbɑut/, [ˈɑ̝bɑ̝ut̪]
    • Rhymes: -øbɑut

    Adverb

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    about (slang)

    1. about (around, approximately, roughly)
      Synonyms: noin, suunnilleen

    French

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    Noun

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    about m (plural abouts)

    1. (technical) the extremity of a metallic or wooden element or piece

    Further reading

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    Anagrams

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