Where does “Tower” come from?
Tower (English) comes from Middle English tour, from Old French tour, from Old French torner, from Latin tornō, from Latin tornus, from Ancient Greek τόρνος, from Proto-Indo-European torh₂no-, from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- — to rub, turn; to drill, pierce.
Tower (English): The Tower of London, especially seen as a place...
Definitions
- The Tower of London, especially seen as a place...
Ancestry of “Tower”, step by step
Tower traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Middle English tour
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | tour | tower |
| 2 | Old French | tour | tower |
| 3 | Old French | torner | to turn; to return; to go back |
| 4 | Latin | tornō | to turn |
| 5 | Latin | tornus | A turner's wheel, lathe; A potter's wheel |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | τόρνος | A tool similar to a pair of compasses used to... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | torh₂no- | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | terh₁- | to rub, turn; to drill, pierce |