Where does “abouten” come from?

abouten (Middle English) comes from Old English abūtan, from Old English on, from Proto-West Germanic ana, from Proto-Germanic *an, from Proto-Germanic ana — on, at; on, onto; ana.

Ancestry of “abouten”, step by step

abouten traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English abūtan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishabūtan—
2Old Englishonon, in, at, among; from
3Proto-West Germanicanaon
4Proto-Germanic*an—
5Proto-Germanicanaon, at; on, onto; ana

via Old English onbūtan

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishonbūtanabout, round about, all around
2Old Englishon-forming verbs and adjectives from participles and...
3Proto-West Germanicana-Forming verbs and adjectives from participles and...
Every word from Proto-Germanic ana →Every word from Proto-Germanic *an →Every word from Proto-West Germanic ana →
abouten — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer