French has three words spelled tour: the feminine la tour “tower”, from Latin turris, and two masculine nouns, le tour “lathe”, from Latin tornus, and le tour “turn, round”, formed on the verb tourner.[1][2][3]
tour1 tower
Pronunciation
- IPA: /tuʁ/[3]
Forms
tour f (plural tours)[3] Old French tur (1080), tor, tour from the 12th century.[1][4][3]
Etymology
The tower is inherited from Old French tur, inherited from Latin turris (“tower; siege tower; house of several storeys”), accusative “turrem”.[2][4][5][6][3] The Latin word is generally held to be borrowed from Ancient Greek τύρσις (túrsis), also “túrrhis”, itself thought to come from another Indo-European language; it may also have come from Asia Minor through the Etruscans, whose Latin name “Tyrrhēnī” has been compared with “turris”.[4][3]
Cognate with Italian torre, Occitan tor and Spanish torre.[5][7]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) as tur, a fortified building.[2][4]
Semantic evolution
Until the 16th century the word was used only of military towers; it then spread to any tall building (1580), as in la tour de Babel (Montaigne), and to a flat-topped bell tower (1636).[4][2] A mobile siege engine was called a tour in 1538–1539, and in 1611 (Cotgrave) the word replaced roc for the rook in chess, first as a masculine, then feminine (1690).[2][4] Of a very stout person it is found in 1669.[2]
Tour d'ivoire “ivory tower”, for an aloof retreat, is Sainte-Beuve's (1830–1831).[2][4] In the 20th century it named technical structures, such as the tour de contrôle (about 1949) and tour de forage (about 1960), and tall blocks of flats or offices, tending to replace gratte-ciel and building.[4]
Timeline
- c. 1100 – Tur in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
- 12th century – Tourelle.[5]
- 1539 – A siege tower.[2]
- 1580 – Tour de Babel in Montaigne.[2]
- 1611 – The rook in chess, in Cotgrave.[2]
- 1831 – Tour d'ivoire in Sainte-Beuve.[2]
- c. 1949 – Tour de contrôle.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- A tower: la tour d'un château, la tour Eiffel.[8]
- A tall block of flats or offices, a high-rise.[4]
- A tall technical structure: tour de contrôle, tour de forage.[4]
- (chess) The rook.[2][4]
- Tour d'ivoire: an ivory tower.[2]
Word family
- tourelle
tour2 lathe
Pronunciation
- IPA: /tuʁ/[3]
Forms
tour m (plural tours)[3] Torn (late 11th century), then tor and tour (about 1175).[4][2]
Etymology
The lathe is inherited from Old French tor, inherited from Latin tornus (“lathe, turner's tool”), borrowed from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “lathe; compasses; turning”).[2][4][1][9] The Greek technical word, which also meant a rounded form and a circular movement, is related to τείρω (teírō, “to wear out, distress”), from an Indo-European root “*ter-” “to wear by rubbing”.[4][7] The verb tourner comes from the Latin derivative “tornāre”.[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found as torn at the end of the 11th century in Rashi's glosses, meaning a winch or wheel, as of a well.[2][4]
Semantic evolution
From the winch the word passed to the crank used to bend a crossbow (arbaleste a tor, about 1176), a spinning wheel (1369) and a reel (about 1600).[2][4] From the end of the 12th century it named the device for shaping wood and ivory, whence fait a tour (1406–1414), today fait au tour “beautifully made” (1671–1672).[2][4] The potter's wheel is recorded in 1723, and the word then followed the machine tool.[4]
From the 16th century, first in convents, tour named a revolving cupboard set in a wall to pass things through (1549), later the one at foundling hospitals where abandoned babies were left (1842); the pastry cook's thick table is a tour from 1680.[2][4]
Timeline
- Late 11th century – Torn “winch” in Rashi.[2]
- c. 1176 – Arbaleste a tor in Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
- 1260 – Tournées à tour, in Étienne Boileau.[2]
- 1549 – A revolving hatch, in Robert Estienne.[2]
- 1680 – The pastry cook's table, in Richelet.[2]
- 1723 – Tour de potier.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- A lathe: travailler au tour; a potter's wheel.[8][2]
- Fait au tour: perfectly shaped.[4]
- A revolving hatch in a wall, as in convents.[8][2]
- (pastry) A marble table for rolling out pastry.[2]
Word family
- touret
- tourer
- tourier
tour3 turn
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Back-formation
- First attested
- c. 1100 (tor)
- Ultimate origin
- Latin (tornō)
Pronunciation
- IPA: /tuʁ/[3]
Forms
tour m (plural tours)[3] Old French tor (1080).[4][1]
Etymology
The turn is a noun formed on Old French torner (see tourner), from Latin tornō (“to turn on a lathe”).[1][4][5][3] It partly followed the development of the verb's senses.[4]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found as tor in 1080 in the sense “about-turn”.[1][4]
Semantic evolution
It then expressed a movement round on oneself, of an object (about 1175) or the body (about 1200), whence tour de main (1440–1475), à tour de bras (1510) and tour de reins (1640).[4] It meant a walk or journey and the circumference of a place (about 1200), faire un tour (1226) and faire le tour de (late 16th century); from 1690 a traveller's circuit, a sense that passed through English tour to give touriste and tourisme.[4] The tour de France of journeymen is recorded in 1798, and the cycle race has been held since 1903.[4]
From about 1175 tour meant a skilful or cunning act, whence jouer un vilain tour (about 1275), a feat shown in public (about 1310) and tour de cartes; it also meant a turn of phrase (1669).[4] Also from about 1175 it meant one's turn in a sequence, as in à tour de rôle and chacun son tour.[4]
Timeline
- 1080 – Tor “about-turn”.[4][1]
- c. 1175 – A trick; one's turn.[4]
- c. 1200 – A walk; the circumference of a place.[4]
- c. 1310 – A feat shown in public.[4]
- 1510 – À tour de bras.[4]
- 1690 – A traveller's circuit.[4]
- 1798 – Tour de France of journeymen.[4]
- 1903 – The Tour de France cycle race.[4]
Meanings
Noun
- A turn, a rotation; a lap: un tour de piste.[4][10]
- A walk, a trip; a tour: faire un tour, faire le tour du monde.[4]
- The circumference or outline of something: tour de taille.[4][10]
- One's turn: c'est ton tour, à tour de rôle.[4]
- A trick or feat; a prank: un tour de magie, jouer un tour.[4]
- A turn of phrase; a turn of events: tour de phrase.[4]
Word family
- demi-tour
- autour
- alentour
- pourtour
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 435a
- ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 80b
- ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Tour.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/tour. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
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