autour

English

Noun

autour (plural autours)

1. Obsolete form of author.
   • 1534, A Necessary Doctrine and Erudition for any Chrysten man, Set Furth by the Kynges Maiestye of Englande. ⁊c.:

     For truely men be to theym ſelues the autours of ſyn and damnation. God is neyther autour of ſynne, nor the cauſe of damnation.

   • 1555, Peter Martyr of Angleria, translated by Rycharde Eden, The Decades of the Newe Worlde or West India, London: […] Guilhelmi Powell:

     Fyrſt therfore to ſpeake of Spayne, ⁊ by the teſtimonie of oulde autours to declare the commodities therof: Plinie a graue ⁊ faythful autour, in the laſt boke ⁊ laſt chapiture of his natural hiſtory greatly commendynge Italy aboue al other contreys, giueth the ſecond prayſe vnto Spaine, aſwel for al ſuch thynges as in maner the heuen can geue ⁊ the earth brynge furth for the commoditie of this lyfe as alſo for the excellente wittes of men ⁊ Ciuile gouernaunce.

   • 1588, The Summe of the Conference betweene Iohn Rainoldes and Iohn Hart: Touching the Head and the Faith of the Church, London: […] George Bishop, page 438:

     For the ſtyle is wont to be a certaine taken of the right autour (chiefly in ſome mens writings,) whereby we vſe often to try and diſcerne a true booke from a forged: as learned men haue done in Auſtin, Ierom, Ambroſe, Cyprian, Tertullian, and others. But herein the triall is the vnlikeneſſe of the ſtyle, betweene an autours owne worke and a baſtard fathered on him.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /o.tuʁ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uʁ

Etymology 1

From au + tour, replacing Old French entor (compare alentour).

Adverb

autour

1. around

Preposition

autour

1. (usually with de) around, about
   • 2018, Zaz, Nos vies:

     On ne sera jamais seul autour de nous ; on est une meute solide, on est une bande de loups.

     You'll never be alone around us; we're a solid pack, we're a pack of wolves.

   • 1995, Jean-Pierre Dumont et al., Psychiatrie de l'enfant et de l'adolescent, volume 1, pages 52–3:

     Entre 1 et 2 ans, l’enfant […] comprend de mieux en mieux le langage, il est de plus en plus à même de comprendre ce qui se passe autour de lui […]

     Between 1 and 2 years, the child […] understands language better and better, he's more and more able to understand what's happening around him […]

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old French (h)ostur, from Late Latin auceptor, from accipiter.

Noun

autour m (plural autours)

1. goshawk

Further reading

• “autour”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle English

Noun

autour

1. Alternative form of auctour

Middle French

Preposition

autour

1. around (surrounding)

Norman

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adverb

autour

1. (Guernsey) around

Derived terms

• autour de