Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “avert” come from?

Avert comes from Middle English adverten, from Old French avertir, from Latin advertere meaning "to turn toward," composed of the prefix ad- and the root wer- meaning "to turn."

avert (English): To turn aside or away; To ward off, or prevent,...

Definitions

  1. To turn aside or away; To ward off, or prevent,...

Ancestry of “avert”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishaverten—
2Old Frenchavertirto inform; to notify; to notice; to remark
3Latinadvertō—
4Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
5Latinīn-—
6Latinîn—
7Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
8Proto-Italicenin
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “avert”

  • averter
  • avertable
  • avertible
  • averteth
  • inavertible
  • unavertible
  • unavertable
  • avertest
  • avertress
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →