turn

turn · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European*terh₁-
2. Proto-Indo-European*tórh₁nos
3. Proto-Hellenic*tórnos
4. Ancient Greekτόρνος (tórnos)
5. Latintornus
6. Latintornō
7. Proto-West Germanic*turnēn
8. Old Englishturnian
9. Latintornō
10. Old Frenchtorner
11. Middle Englishturnen
12. English todayturn

From Middle English turnen, from Old English turnian, tyrnan (“to turn, rotate, revolve”), from Proto-West Germanic *turnēn (“to turn, lathe”) (also the source of German turnen and its derivatives) and Old French torner (“to turn”), both from Latin tornāre (“to round off, turn in a lathe”), from tornus (“lathe”), from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “turning-lathe: a tool used for making circles”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to rub, rub by turning, turn, twist, bore”). Cognate with Old English þrāwan (“to turn, twist, wind”), whence English throw. Displaced native Middle English wenden from Old English wendan (see wend), and Middle English trenden from Old English trendan (see trend), among several other terms.

turn · noun²

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromτόρνος
2. Latin · derived fromtornus
3. Anglo-Norman · derived from*torn
4. English todayturn

Partly from Anglo-Norman *torn, from Latin tornus, from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos), and partly an action noun from the verb turn.

Words from the same roots