Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “returnen” come from?

returnen (Middle English) comes from Anglo-Norman returner, from Old French retourner, from Medieval Latin retornare, from Latin rĕ-, from Latin prōdūcō, from Latin prō-, from Proto-Italic *pro-, from Proto-Indo-European pro- — passed , crossed.

Ancestry of “returnen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Anglo-NormanreturnerAlternative form of retorner
2Old FrenchretournerAlternative form of retorner
3Medieval Latinretornareto turn back
4Latinrĕ-—
5Latinprōdūcō—
6Latinprō-—
7Proto-Italic*pro-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanpro-toward, forward
9Proto-Indo-Europeanpor-to give birth; forward, through; going, passage
10Proto-Indo-Europeanper-before, in front; first; to go through
11Proto-Indo-Europeanpr̥tóspassed , crossed

Words derived from “returnen”

  • return
  • returning
  • returnee
  • returneth
  • returner
  • returnest
  • unreturning
  • nonreturn
  • returnless
  • returnability
  • nonreturner
  • rereturn
  • prereturn
  • unreturningly
  • returnment
  • non-return
Every word from Proto-Indo-European pr̥tós →