Talkin' bout my bass

[bobalew]

I am measuring my bass for inventory purposes and noting the dimensions of the various components on a sketch when it occurs to me that I have numbers written down for the upper bout, the C-bout and the lower bout, but I don't know what I'm talking 'bout!

Where did the word 'bout' come from as it relates to the double bass? I'm afraid our dear friend Merriam has been of no help, referring me to sports events and illness.

[Jsn]

Originally Posted by bobalew

Where did the word 'bout' come from as it relates to the double bass? I'm afraid our dear friend Merriam has been of no help, referring me to sports events and illness.

I enjoy and appreciate the Online Etymology Dictionary:

bout (n.)
1540s, from Middle English bught, probably from an unrecorded Old English variant of byht "a bend," from Proto-Germanic *bukhta- (see bight (n.)). Sense evolved from "a circuit of any kind" (as of a plow) to "a round at any kind of exercise" (1570s), "a round at fighting" (1590s), "a fit of drinking" (1660s).

So there you have it: They're called bouts because they bend, and because they cause you to go on a bender.