thereabout

English

Etymology

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

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ðɛəɹəˈbaʊt/, /ˈðɛəɹəbaʊt/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
Audio (Southern England): (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈðɛɹəˌbaʊt/, /ˌðɛɹəˈbaʊt/
Hyphenation: there‧a‧bout

Adverb

thereabout (not comparable)

About or near that place.
Synonym: thereabouts
About or around that date or time.
Synonym: thereabouts

Dinner will be ready at six-thirty or thereabout.
About or near to that condition or quality.
Synonym: thereabouts
Approximately that number or quantity.
Synonym: thereabouts

The speed of light is 186,000 miles per second, right? Yes, thereabout.
(obsolete)
1. About that; concerning that.
  Synonyms: thereabouts, (Scotland) thereanent
  - 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 24:3–4, column 2:
    And they entred in, and found not the body of the Lord Jeſus. And it came to paſſe, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men ſtood by them in ſhining garments.
2. (figuratively) Near to that activity or situation.
  Synonym: thereabouts

Translations

about or near that place

Bulgarian: около (bg) (okolo)
Dutch: daaromheen (nl)
Finnish: noilla main, tuollapäin (of a location pointed at), niillä main, sielläpäin (of a location that is not pointed at but indicated otherwise)
German: daherum, dortherum, in der Gegend, um die Ecke (de)
Italian: nei dintorni, nei pressi, nelle vicinanze
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: wan deran
Portuguese: em torno disto
Russian: о́коло того́ (ókolo tovó), о́коло э́того (ókolo étovo)
Spanish: algo por ahí
Swedish: däromkring (sv)
Ukrainian: десь там (desʹ tam), поруч (poruč)

about or around that date or time

Bulgarian: около (bg) (okolo)
Finnish: noin (fi), paikkeilla (of date); maissa (fi) (of time)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: wan deman, wî zemanî (ku)
Swedish: däromkring (sv)

about or near to that condition or quality

Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: nêzîkî (ku), teqrîben (ku), derdorî (ku)
Swedish: däromkring (sv)

approximately that number or quantity

Bulgarian: приблизително (bg) (priblizitelno)
Finnish: suunnilleen (fi)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: teqrîben (ku), nêzîkî (ku), derdorî (ku)
Swedish: däromkring (sv)

References

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

Anagrams

breathe out, outbreathe

[1] “thē̆r-abǒute(n, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

[2] “thereabout, adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2021; “thereabouts (also thereabout), adv.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

[1]

[2]