tourner
Pronunciation
- IPA: /tuʁ.ne/[1]
Forms
tourner[1] Old French torner (about 980), turner, tourner from the 12th century.[2][3]
Etymology
It is inherited from Old French torner, inherited from Latin tornō (“to shape on a lathe; to round off”), derived from tornus (“lathe”) (see tour), borrowed from Ancient Greek τόρνος (tórnos, “lathe; compasses”).[3][2][4][5] Cicero already used the Latin verb figuratively, and “male tornati” could describe badly turned verses.[3][6] The word, found in all Romance languages, displaced the classical verbs vertō (“to turn”) and torqueō (“to twist”).[3] The Petit Robert relates the Greek word to an Indo-European root meaning “to rub, wear away”, seen in Latin terō (“to rub”).[4]
Cognate with Italian tornare, Occitan tornar, Catalan tornar and Spanish tornar; Romanian turna means “to pour”.[4][6]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first found in the second half of the 10th century in the Vie de saint Léger, in the reflexive se torner “to turn towards”, and in the Passion of Clermont, envers Jesúm sos olz torned “he turned his eyes towards Jesus”.[7][3]
Semantic evolution
Old French already had a wide range of transitive, intransitive and reflexive uses, without sharp boundaries; it often meant “to go back, return” and “to go, head for”.[3][2] Tourner le dos “to flee” is in the Chanson de Roland, and tourner les talons appears about 1220.[3][7] The wind turns in Wace (1160–1174), and Chrétien de Troyes turns his path to the right (1176–1181).[7]
From the craft sense of the Latin verb came tourner “to shape on a lathe”, and, from the figurative sense, “to put into words”, as in bien tourner une phrase.[3][6] Later senses include “to go sour” of milk, tourner un film and tourner mal “to go wrong”.[4][8] Many derivatives were formed on the verb: tour “turn”, tournée (1220), tournant (1272), tournure and détourner (about 1080); retourner is in the Strasbourg Oaths (842).[6]
Timeline
- 842 – Returnar in the Strasbourg Oaths.[6]
- 2nd half of the 10th century – Se torner in the Vie de saint Léger.[7]
- c. 1100 – Lur les dos turnez “they turned their backs”, in the Chanson de Roland.[7]
- 1160–1174 – Li venz turna, in Wace.[7]
- c. 1220 – Tourner les talons.[3]
- 1272 – Tournant.[6]
- 1694 – Tourner le dos à un lieu.[3]
Meanings
Verb
- To turn, rotate; to turn around: la Terre tourne, tourner la clé.[4][1]
- To change direction: tournez à gauche; to turn one's back, head or eyes.[7]
- To shape on a lathe.[6][3]
- To put into words: bien tourner une phrase.[3]
- To shoot a film; to act in a film.[4]
- To turn out, develop: tourner bien, tourner mal; of milk, to go sour.[4][8]
- Se tourner vers: to turn towards; to turn to someone.[3]
Word family
Related words
- contourner
- Latin tornō
References
- ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g 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, 46b
- ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c d e f g 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse