gadabout

English

Etymology

Deverbal from gad about.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡædəbaʊt/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

gadabout (plural gadabouts)

1. A person who restlessly moves from place to place, seeking amusement or the companionship of others.

   Synonym: social butterfly

   • 2021, Pedro Mairal, chapter 11, in The Woman from Uruguay, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN:

     I was among the last to board the ferry. ... Chilean tourists, Uruguayan doctors, old Argentine gadabouts of high-society heritage, ladies wearing strident perfumes, families, all of them in those same light blue sneakers, like Smurfs.

Translations

person who restlessly moves from place to place seeking amusement or the companionship of others

• Armenian: դատարկաշրջիկ (hy) (datarkašrǰik)
• Georgian: მოხეტიალე (ka) (moxeṭiale), მაწანწალა (mac̣anc̣ala)
• Irish: rásaí m
• Italian: saltafossi m
• Maori: tourepa
• Scottish Gaelic: galbh, galbhag (female), maol-ruanaidh (female), fear cèilidheach (male)