About

From Fresh Dictionary

Contents

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English


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Etymology

Old English onbūtan, from on + būtan ‘outside’.

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Pronunciation

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Preposition

about

  1. Around; all round; outside or on every side of.
    Quotations
    • If thou beest not immortal look about you. - Shakespeare, Julius Caesar, II-iii
    • Bind them about thy neck. - Proverbs 3:3
  2. In the immediate neighborhood of; in contiguity or proximity to; near, as to place; by or on (one's person).
    Quotations
    • Have you much money about you? - Bulwer
  3. Over or upon different parts of; through or over in various directions; here and there in; to and fro in; throughout.
    Quotations
    • Lampoons ... were handed about the coffeehouses. - Macaulay
    • Roving still about the world. - Milton
  4. Near; not far from; -- determining approximately time, size, quantity.
    Quotations
    • To-morrow, about this time. - Exodus 9:18
    • She is about my height. - Shakespeare, Two Gentlemen of Verona, IV-iv
    • He went out about the third hour. - Matthew 20:3
    Note: This use passes into the adverbial sense.
  5. In concern with; engaged in; intent on.
    Quotations
    • I must be about my Father's business. - Luke 2:49
  6. (Before a verbal noun or an infinitive): On the point or verge of; going; in act of.
    Quotations
    • Paul was now about to open his mouth. - Acts 18:14
  7. Concerning; with regard to; on account of; touching.
    Quotations
    • To treat about thy ransom. - Milton
    • She must have her way about Sarah. - Trollope
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Translations

Around (1)
In the immediate neighborhood of (2)
Over or upon different parts of (3)
Near (4)
In concern with (5)
On the point or verge of (6)
Concerning (7)
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Translations to be categorized

The translations below need to be checked and inserted into the appropriate table(s) above, removing any numbers. Bear in mind that there are separate pages for different capitalisations. If a translation table directs the user to another page, then move the translation to that page.

When initially tagging an entry with this template, be sure to enclose each language in a {{ttbc|...}} tag to subcategorize it properly. For example, the line

*[[French]]: [[jour]] {{m}}<tt> should become <tt>*{{ttbc|French}}: [[jour]] {{m}}

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Adverb

about

  1. On all sides; around.
    Quotations
    • 'Tis time to look about. - Shakespeare, King Lear, IV-vii
  2. In circuit; circularly; by a circuitous way; around the outside; as, a mile about, and a third of a mile across.
  3. Here and there; around; in one place and another.
    Quotations
    • Wandering about from house to house. - 1 Timothy 5:13
  4. Nearly; approximately; with close correspondence, in quality, manner, degree, etc.; as, about as cold; about as high; -- also of quantity, number, time.
    Quotations
    • There fell ... about three thousand men. - Exodus 22:28
  5. To a reserved position; half round; in the opposite direction; on the opposite tack; as, to face about; to turn one's self about.
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Derived terms

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Translations

On all sides (1)
In circuit (2)
Here and there (3)
Nearly (4)
To a reserved position (5)
[edit]
Translations to be categorized

The translations below need to be checked and inserted into the appropriate table(s) above, removing any numbers. Bear in mind that there are separate pages for different capitalisations. If a translation table directs the user to another page, then move the translation to that page.

When initially tagging an entry with this template, be sure to enclose each language in a {{ttbc|...}} tag to subcategorize it properly. For example, the line

*[[French]]: [[jour]] {{m}}<tt> should become <tt>*{{ttbc|French}}: [[jour]] {{m}}

de:about es:about fr:about gl:about ko:about io:about it:about hu:about pt:about ru:about sm:about fi:about uk:about zh:about

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