Archaic nautical term meaning going around to the eastward, or taking an easterly route around something.
Combination of 'east' (direction) and 'about' (around), from Old English 'east' and 'abutan' (around). Used primarily in maritime contexts from the 16th-18th centuries.
Sailors needed precise directional language before GPS, so they combined simple direction words in poetic ways—'eastabout' painted a picture of the actual voyage route rather than just a compass point.
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