thereabout

Etymology

Came 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”), among other forms, which developed from Old English þǣrābūtan, þǣronbūtan. These come from þǣr (“there”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só (“this; that”) plus *-r, combined with abūtan, onbūtan (“about; round about; on; on the outside”), itself from on- (a prefix meaning ‘on; upon; there; thither; to’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en-, “on; onto”) plus būtan (“just, merely, only”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep- and *úd, “away; out; outwards; upwards”). The English word can be analysed as there + about, and it is attested earlier than thereabouts.