about

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English aboute, earlier abuten,^[2][3][4] inherited from Old English abūtan, recorded about 1000 in Ælfric's work on astronomy,^[5] a reduced form of earlier onbūtan (“on the outside of”) (about 880).^[5][6][7] That word is formed from Old English on (“on, in”) + būtan (“outside of”),^{[8][9][10][5]} and its second part is itself made from be (“by”) and ūtan (“outside”), from ūt (“out”).^[5][6][3] The second part is the same word as but, so that about is, in its parts, "on by out".^[11] The OED compares Old Frisian abūta (“outside”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Around the outside of; in Old English also near, and to and fro.^[11][6] Barnhart's first record is from about 880;^[5] the OED's first quotation, for "round in a circular course", is from Ælfric's De Temporibus Anni.^[7]

Semantic evolution

Old English expressed "around" with ymbe and ymbūtan, but onbūtan gradually took over their work, and they had disappeared by the 13th century.^[5][6] In late Old English the word already meant "approximately", of time, number or degree.^[6] The commonest present-day sense, "concerning", arose in the 13th century:^[11][2] Etymonline dates it to the mid-13th century.^[6] By about 1300 the word also meant "round and round", "on every side" and "engaged in", as in the Biblical about my Father's business;^[6] the use with an infinitive, about to, going to, is from the 16th century.^[2] Weekley saw all the senses as growing from "in the neighbourhood of": a man about fifty is near that age.^[12] The nautical sense, on or to the opposite tack, is recorded from 1588, and the sense "astir, in circulation" from 1745.^[7][4] Bring about and come about are from the late 14th century, and the military command about face from 1861, in American English.^[6] Johnson (1755) listed "circularly" as the first sense of the adverb.^[13] In Yorkshire dialect about could mean "without".^[14]

Timeline

• c. 880 – onbūtan, on the outside of.^[5]
• c. 1000 – abūtan, in Ælfric.^[5]
• 12th century – near, approximately.^[2]
• 13th century – concerning.^[11][2] Etymonline dates it to the mid-13th century.^[6]
• c. 1300 – round and round; on every side; engaged in.^[6]
• late 14th century – bring about, come about.^[6]
• 16th century – about to, going to.^[2]
• 1588 – nautical, on or to the opposite tack.^[7]
• 1638 – idly, aimlessly, with verbs of activity.^[7]
• 1745 – astir; in circulation.^[7][4]
• 1861 – about face, in American English.^[6]

Meanings

Preposition

1. On the subject of; concerning: a film about whales.^[15][4]
2. Near to, in place or time: about midnight.^[15][4]
3. On one's person: I had no cash about me.^[15][4]
4. On every side of; around.^[15][4]
5. Busy with or engaged in: Be quick about it.^[15]
6. about to: on the point of: The train is about to leave.^[15][2]

Adverb

1. Approximately; nearly: about ten miles.^[7][6]
2. In various directions; here and there: papers scattered about.^[4][7]
3. So as to face the other way.^[7][4]
4. Nearby; astir or in circulation: There is a lot of flu about.^[4][7]
5. (nautical) On or onto the opposite tack.^[7]

Related words

• but
• out
• by
• above
• abaft
• thereabout

Usage notes

An obsolete preposition about, "without", formed separately from the prefix a- and but, was used from late Old English to 1300, and rarely as a conjunction, "unless".^[7]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c d Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
12. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
15. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins