Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “revolving” come from?

Revolving comes from Middle English revolven, from Old French revolver, from Latin revolvere, formed from the prefix re- and Latin revolvo, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wel- and wert-.

revolving (English): moving around a central point; Relating to an...

Definitions

  1. moving around a central point; Relating to an...

Ancestry of “revolving”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrevolveThe rotation of part of the scenery within a...
2Middle Englishrevolvento change direction
3Old Frenchrevolverto reflect upon
4Latinrevolverethird-person plural perfect active indicative of...
5LatinrevolvoI roll back; unroll, unwind; revolve, return; I...
6Latinre-back, backwards; again; prefix added to various...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwret-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanwert-to turn, to rotate
9Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “revolving”

  • nonrevolving
  • revolvingly
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →