thereabout

Meaning

1. (not-comparable) About or near that place.
2. (not-comparable) About or around that date or time.
3. (not-comparable) About or near to that condition or quality.
4. (not-comparable) Approximately that number or quantity.
5. (not-comparable, obsolete) About that; concerning that.
6. (figuratively, not-comparable, obsolete) Near to that activity or situation.

Synonyms

thereabouts

near at hand

close by

as good as

just about

likely

near

nearly

next

nigh

practically

probably

thereby

close on

about

well nigh

almost

approximately

Translations

rondom

daaromheen

in het rond

ongeveer

em redor

à volta

circa

alentour

accanto

autour

eromheen

oralarda

so ungefähr

σχεδόν

εκεί κοντά

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ðɛəɹəˈbaʊt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: ther-aboute

Inherited from Old English: þǣr-ābūtan

In summary

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], 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.
The word is attested earlier than thereabouts.