about的词源

英文词源

about: about: [OE] About in Old English times meant ‘around the outside of’; it did not develop its commonest present-day meaning, ‘concerning’, until the 13th century. In its earliest incarnation it was onbūtan, a compound made up of on and būtan ‘outside’ (this is the same word as modern English but, which was itself originally a compound, formed from the ancestors of by and out – so broken down into its ultimate constituents, about is on by out).
=> but, by, out
about (adv.): Old English abutan, earlier onbutan "on the outside of," from on (see on; also see a- (1)) + be "by" (see by) + utan "outside," from ut (see out (adv.)). By 13c. it had forced out Old English ymbe, ymbutan for meaning "in the neighborhood of." Abouts, with adverbial genitive, still found in hereabouts, etc., probably is a northern dialectal form. About face as a military command (short for right about face) is first attested 1861, American English.

来自古英语onbutan, a- 同on , -b同by, -ut为out词根。字面意思为在外面的,后指大约。

该词的英语词源请访问趣词词源英文版：about 词源，about 含义。

词根词缀为ab + out, 最初的意义是“在…外面的周围”,“关于”的意义出现在13世纪。