Around

How to spell around

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce around

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does around mean?

1. prepositionOn every side of, or in a position surrounding or near something.

Around in a sentence

• The children gathered around the campfire.

• There were boxes scattered around the office.

Where does around come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word around is a compound built from the old prefix a-, meaning 'on' or 'in', plus round. The prefix a- is a worn-down form of the Old English preposition 'an' or 'on', the same element seen in words like aboard, ashore, and aside. The second part, round, came into English through Old French 'roond' from the Latin rotundus, meaning 'wheel-shaped' or 'circular', which itself derives from rota, the Latin word for 'wheel'. The two pieces were fused in Middle English to express the idea of motion or position in a circle, and over time the meaning broadened to cover 'on every side', 'approximately', and 'in the vicinity'. Because the spelling simply stacks a familiar prefix onto a familiar word, the only trap is remembering it is written as a single unbroken word rather than two.

How the word is built

• a- (on, in a state of)
• round (circular, from Latin rotundus 'wheel-shaped')