thereabout

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English

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Etymology

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PIE word
*só
PIE word
*úd

From Middle English ther-aboute, ther-abouten (“of a place or an object: around there, in its vicinity; surrounding it; nearby, neighbouring; here and there, throughout that place; of an action, matter, etc.: about, concerning; of an amount or distance: approximately, more or less; of time: about then, around that time”) [and other forms],[1] from Old English þǣr-ābūtan, þǣr-onbūtan, from þǣr (“there”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só (“this; that”) + *-r) + abūtan, onbūtan (“about; round about; on; on the outside”) (from on- (prefix meaning ‘on; upon; there; thither; to’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- (“on; onto”)) + būtan (“just, merely, only”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep- + *úd (“away; out; outwards; upwards”))). The English word is analysable as there + about.[2]

The word is attested earlier than thereabouts.

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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thereabout (not comparable)

  1. About or near that place.
    Synonym: thereabouts
  2. About or around that date or time.
    Synonym: thereabouts
    Dinner will be ready at six-thirty or thereabout.
  3. About or near to that condition or quality.
    Synonym: thereabouts
  4. Approximately that number or quantity.
    Synonym: thereabouts
    The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, right? Yes, thereabout.
  5. (obsolete)
    1. About that; concerning that.
      Synonyms: thereabouts, (Scotland) thereanent
    2. (figuratively) Near to that activity or situation.
      Synonym: thereabouts

Translations

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See also

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Here-, there-, and where- words

References

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  1. ^ “thē̆r-abǒute(n, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ^ “thereabout, adv.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2021; “thereabouts (also thereabout), adv.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

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