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turnover

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Etymology and origin of the English word turnover

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1605, P. Erondelle, The French Garden

Pronunciation

  • US: /ˈtɝnoʊvɚ/[1]

Etymology

It is a noun and adjective formed in English from the phrasal verb turn over,[2][3][4][5] which Etymonline dates to about 1400 in the sense "topple over, reverse position".[6] The OED classes the word as formed by conversion.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adjective, that turns over or is turned over: 1605, in Peter Erondelle's French Garden;[2] in the 19th and early 20th centuries it was used especially of a collar turned down over the neckband.[2][7] As a noun, something turned or folded over, such as a flap, is recorded from 1611, in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary.[2] Merriam-Webster gives the 14th century for the noun,[5] Etymonline the 1650s,[6] and Dictionary.com 1605–15.[4]

Semantic evolution

Many of the early senses are concrete things that are folded over.[2][3] An apprentice handed on to a new master was a turnover from 1631 (now historical),[2][3] a turned-down neckband or collar from 1699,[2] and a small shawl from 1827, a sense surviving in south-western English and Welsh English.[2] The pastry made by folding dough over a filling is recorded from 1786 in the OED;[2] Etymonline dates it to 1798, and explains the name from half of a round crust being turned over the other.[6] In British use a turnover was also a sweet shaped like such a pastry (1889).[2] The action of turning over is recorded from 1660,[2] and gave criminals' slang for a police search (1865)[2][7] and the movement of votes from one party to another (1893).[2][7] In journalism a turnover was an article that continued overleaf (1883), and in printing it is a line or part of a word carried over to the next line (1938).[2][3]

The commercial sense developed in the 19th century: the rate at which goods are sold and replaced is recorded from 1854,[7] the amount of business done in a given time from 1879 in Etymonline[6] and the value of a company's sales in a period from 1894 in the Historical Thesaurus.[7] From the idea of a stock being renewed came the rate at which people pass through a place (1880),[7] the replacement of substances or cells in an organism (1898),[7][3] and, recorded from 1955, the rate at which a workforce changes.[6] In American football and other games a loss of the ball to the other side has been called a turnover since 1953.[7][8]

Timeline

  • 1605 – adjective, that turns or is turned over.[2]
  • 1611 – something turned or folded over.[2]
  • 1631 – an apprentice transferred to a new master.[2]
  • 1660 – the action of turning over.[2]
  • 1699 – a turned-down neckband or collar.[2]
  • 1786 – a folded pastry with a filling.[2]
  • 1854 – the rate at which goods are sold and replaced.[7]
  • 1865 – criminals' slang, a police search.[2]
  • 1879 – the amount of business done in a period.[6]
  • 1893 – a transfer of votes between parties.[2]
  • 1898 – (biology) the loss and replacement of substances or cells.[7]
  • 1953 – (sport) a loss of possession of the ball.[7]
  • 1955 – the rate at which employees leave and are replaced.[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The total amount of money a business takes in sales over a given period.
  2. The rate at which employees leave a workforce and are replaced: The call centre has a high staff turnover.
  3. The rate at which goods are sold and restocked in a shop or business.
  4. (biology) The continuous breakdown and replacement of a substance or of cells in a living body.
  5. A small pie made by folding pastry over a sweet filling: a cherry turnover.
  6. (chiefly North America, sport) A loss of possession of the ball to the opposing team.
  7. An act of turning over; an upset or overturning.
  8. A sudden change or transfer, as of power, ownership or votes.

Adjective

  1. Made with a part that folds or turns over: a turnover collar.
  • overturn
  • turnaround
  • turn
  • over
  • takeover
  • handover

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cite this entry

“Turnover.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/turnover. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

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