源etymfun
About

Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

Explanations are written by a local model (gemma4) and only published after a verification pass against the cited sources. How it works.

English

turn

/tɜːn/
To move about an axis through itself.

    Etymology graph

    • inherited
    • borrowed
    • derived
    • parts
    • meaning component
    • sound component
    • related
    React Flow
    Press enter or space to select a node. You can then use the arrow keys to move the node around. Press delete to remove it and escape to cancel.
    Press enter or space to select an edge. You can then press delete to remove it or escape to cancel.

    Click a node to zoom in · double-click to open it

    Origin

    Etymology 1

    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.

    Etymology 2

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

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishturnen
      • inheritedOld Englishturnian
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*turnēn
          • borrowedLatintornō
            • derivedLatin-ō “denominative”
              • inheritedProto-Italic*-āō
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*-ō
              • inheritedProto-Italic*-ōd
                • inheritedProto-Indo-European*-éad
              • derivedProto-Indo-European*-Hō
      • borrowedOld Frenchtorner
    • rootProto-Indo-European*terh₁- “to rub, rub by twisting, twist, turn”
    • derivedLatintornus
      • borrowedAncient Greekτόρνος
        • inheritedProto-Hellenic*tórnos
      • derivedAncient Greekτόρνος

    Related: English throw, Old English þrāwan

    Words built on it: turn out, return, for the book, turn over

    Meanings

    verb
    1. To move about an axis through itself.
    2. To change the direction or orientation of, especially by rotation.
    3. To change one's direction of travel.
    4. To shape (something) symmetrically by rotating it against a stationary cutting tool, as on a lathe.
    5. To give form to; to shape or mould; to adapt.
    6. To direct or impel (something) into or out of a place.
    noun
    1. A change of direction or orientation.
    2. A movement of an object about its own axis in one direction that continues until the object returns to its initial orientation.
    3. A unit of plane angle measurement based on this movement.
    4. A walk to and fro.
    5. A chance to use something shared in sequence with others.
    6. A spell of work, especially the time allotted to a person in a rota or schedule.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: turn