gadabout

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 14, 2024 is: gadabout \GAD-uh-bout\ noun A gadabout is a person who flits about in social activity, as by going to many places and social events for pleasure. // She was a gadabout who was rarely home, and her tiny apartment was cluttered with playbills and other souvenirs of her adventures. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gadabout) Examples: "The wild career of David Johansen—[New York Dolls](https://www.britannica.com/topic/the-New-York-Dolls) frontman, punk gadabout, occasional actor, and Buster Poindexter portrayer—will be the focus of an upcoming documentary co-directed by [Martin Scorsese](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Martin-Scorsese)." — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2023 Did you know? If you had to pick an insect most closely related to a gadabout, you might [wryly](https://bit.ly/3WsqxcU) guess the "social butterfly." But there's another bug that's commonly heard buzzing around discussions of the gadabout: the gadfly. [Gadfly](https://bit.ly/46ityj3) is a term used for any of a number of winged pests (such as [horseflies](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/horsefly)) that bite or annoy livestock. But, although a gadabout's gossip can bite, gadfly doesn't have any clear etymological relation to gadabout. This word, which comes from the English phrase "[gad](https://bit.ly/3Wcokkx) about," traces back to the Middle English verb gadden, meaning "to be on the go without a specific aim or purpose." That word's source hasn't left a trail.