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whereabouts

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Etymology and origin of the English word whereabouts

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1450 Mirk's Festial
Ultimate origin
English whereabout,-s

Pronunciation

  • /ˌ(h)wɛəɹəˈbaʊts/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English whereabout + -s,[2][3][4] the -s being the old genitive ending used adverbially,[5][6] as in hereabouts and thereabouts.[2] Middle English already had wheraboutes.[5][4] The base is from Middle English wheraboute, a compound of where and about.[7][5][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Where, or about where, in questions: about 1450, in Mirk's Festial.[2] Etymonline dates the form to the late 14th century, with the sense "at what business" from the early 15th.[6]

Semantic evolution

The adverb could also mean "about or concerning which" or "on what business", a use the OED records from 1540 to 1630;[2][8] Merriam-Webster quotes Shakespeare for it.[5] The noun, "the place where someone or something is", developed from the adverb:[2] the shorter whereabout was used so in Shakespeare's Macbeth, where the speaker fears the stones will "prate of my whereabout".[2][9][6] Merriam-Webster dates the noun to 1605,[5] while the OED and Etymonline first record whereabouts as a noun in 1795.[2][6] In Australian slang of the 1920s whereabouts was a pun on wear-abouts, men's underpants.[10]

Timeline

  • before 1400 – whereabout, about where?[2]
  • late 14th century – the form wher-aboutes.[6]
  • c. 1450 – whereabouts, about where?[2]
  • 1540 – about or concerning which (obsolete by 1630).[2]
  • 1605 – noun, the place where someone or something is.[5]
  • before 1616 – noun whereabout, in Shakespeare's Macbeth.[2]
  • 1795 – noun whereabouts.[2][6]
  • 1920 – Australian slang, men's underpants.[10]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. About where; in or near what place: Whereabouts did you leave the car?[8][5][2]
  2. (obsolete, 1540–1630) About or concerning which; on what business.[2][8][5]

Noun

  1. The place, especially the approximate place, where someone or something is: The painting's whereabouts are still unknown.[8][5][2]
  2. (Australian slang) Men's underpants.[10]
  • whereabout
  • hereabouts
  • thereabouts

Usage notes

As a noun, whereabouts can take a singular or a plural verb.[8][5]

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  8. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  10. ^ a b c Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
Cite this entry

“Whereabouts.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/whereabouts. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·