Etymology Explorer › Middle English

Where does “tur” come from?

tur (Middle English) comes 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.

Ancestry of “tur”, 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 “tur”

  • tower
  • watchtower
  • towery
  • towerlike
  • towerless
  • overtower
  • multitower
  • stairtower
  • supertower
  • outtower
  • towerscape
  • bell tower
  • megatower
  • 타워
  • tawer
  • tŵr
  • taua
Every word from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- →