Where does “tor” come from?

tor (Old French) comes from French tour, from Latin tornus, from Ancient Greek τόρνος, from Proto-Indo-European torh₂no-, from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- — to rub, turn; to drill, pierce.

tor (Old French): tower; bull

Definitions

  1. tower; bull

Ancestry of “tor”, step by step

tor traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via French tour

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchtourtower; rook; apartment building
2LatintornusA turner's wheel, lathe; A potter's wheel
3Ancient GreekτόρνοςA tool similar to a pair of compasses used to...
4Proto-Indo-Europeantorh₂no-—
5Proto-Indo-Europeanterh₁-to rub, turn; to drill, pierce

via Latin Taurus

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinTaurusTaurus, one of the constellations of the Zodiac
2Ancient GreekΤαῦροςone of the Tauri
3Proto-Hellenictáurosbull
4Proto-Indo-Europeantáwroswild bull, aurochs

via Latin Turris

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LatinTurrisA river of Venetia, now called Torre
2Ancient Greekτύρριςtower, walled city
3Ancient Greekτύρσιςtower, bastion

Words derived from “tor”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European terh₁- →Every word from Proto-Indo-European torh₂no- →Every word from Ancient Greek τόρνος →