bout

Definition

A period of something, especially one painful or unpleasant, like an illness.

Etymology

From Middle English bout, bowt, bught (whence also modern English bought (“bend, curve”)), probably from Old English *buht (“bend, turn”), an unrecorded variant of Old English byht (“a bend, curve”), from Proto-West Germanic *buhti, from Proto-Germanic *buhtiz (“a bend”). Equivalent to bow + -t. Doublet of bight and bought. For the sense development compare bender.

Example Sentences

• "a bout of drought"
• "a coughing bout"
• "a long bout of the flu"