Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “tour” come from?

Tour comes from French tour, from Latin taurus, ultimately derived from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- meaning to turn or twist.

tour (English): A journey through a particular building, estate,...

Definitions

  1. A journey through a particular building, estate,...

Ancestry of “tour”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchtourtower
2Old Frenchtornerto turn; to return; to go back
3Latintornō—
4LatintornusA turner's wheel, lathe; A potter's wheel
5Ancient GreekτόρνοςA tool similar to a pair of compasses used to...
6Proto-Indo-Europeantorh₂no-—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanterh₁-to rub, turn; to drill, pierce

Words derived from “tour”

  • tourism
  • tourist
  • touring
  • ecotourism
  • touristic
  • touristy
  • ecotourist
  • tourer
  • ecotour
  • touristed
  • agrotourism
  • subtour
  • touristification
  • touristically
  • nontourist
  • nontourism
  • untouristed
  • untouristy
  • touristry
  • minitour
  • pretour
  • thanatourism
  • ecotouristic
  • tourable
Every word from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- →