turnover English · revision 39795

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1605, P. Erondelle, The French Garden}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * US: /ˈtɝnoʊvɚ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a noun and adjective formed in English from the phrasal verb [[turn]] [[over]],^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(MWU 2024) which Etymonline dates to about 1400 in the sense "topple over, reverse position".^(Etymonline) The OED classes the word as formed by conversion.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adjective, that turns over or is turned over: 1605, in Peter Erondelle's ''French Garden'';^(OED 2026) in the 19th and early 20th centuries it was used especially of a collar turned down over the neckband.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) As a noun, something turned or folded over, such as a flap, is recorded from 1611, in Cotgrave's French–English dictionary.^(OED 2026) Merriam-Webster gives the 14th century for the noun,^(MWU 2024) Etymonline the 1650s,^(Etymonline) and Dictionary.com 1605–15.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Many of the early senses are concrete things that are folded over.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) An apprentice handed on to a new master was a ''turnover'' from 1631 (now historical),^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) a turned-down neckband or collar from 1699,^(OED 2026) and a small shawl from 1827, a sense surviving in south-western English and Welsh English.^(OED 2026) The pastry made by folding dough over a filling is recorded from 1786 in the OED;^(OED 2026) Etymonline dates it to 1798, and explains the name from half of a round crust being turned over the other.^(Etymonline) In British use a ''turnover'' was also a sweet shaped like such a pastry (1889).^(OED 2026) The action of turning over is recorded from 1660,^(OED 2026) and gave criminals' slang for a police search (1865)^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) and the movement of votes from one party to another (1893).^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) 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).^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ The commercial sense developed in the 19th century: the rate at which goods are sold and replaced is recorded from 1854,^(HTOED) the amount of business done in a given time from 1879 in Etymonline^(Etymonline) and the value of a company's sales in a period from 1894 in the Historical Thesaurus.^(HTOED) From the idea of a stock being renewed came the rate at which people pass through a place (1880),^(HTOED) the replacement of substances or cells in an organism (1898),^(HTOED)^(SOED 2002) and, recorded from 1955, the rate at which a workforce changes.^(Etymonline) In American football and other games a loss of the ball to the other side has been called a turnover since 1953.^(HTOED)^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1605 – adjective, that turns or is turned over.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1611 – something turned or folded over.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1631 – an apprentice transferred to a new master.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1660 – the action of turning over.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1699 – a turned-down neckband or collar.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1786 – a folded pastry with a filling.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1854 – the rate at which goods are sold and replaced.^(HTOED)

+ * 1865 – criminals' slang, a police search.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1879 – the amount of business done in a period.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1893 – a transfer of votes between parties.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1898 – (biology) the loss and replacement of substances or cells.^(HTOED)

+ * 1953 – (sport) a loss of possession of the ball.^(HTOED)

+ * 1955 – the rate at which employees leave and are replaced.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The total amount of money a [[business]] takes in sales over a given period.^(ODE 2010)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The rate at which [[employee|alt=employees]] leave a workforce and are replaced: ''The call centre has a high staff turnover.''^(ODE 2010)^(MWU 2024)

+ # The rate at which goods are sold and [[restock|alt=restocked]] in a shop or business.^(ODE 2010)^(AHD 2024)

+ # (biology) The continuous breakdown and replacement of a substance or of cells in a living body.^(SOED 2002)^(OED 2026)

+ # A small [[pie]] made by folding pastry over a sweet filling: ''a cherry turnover''.^(ODE 2010)^(AHD 2024)

+ # (chiefly North America, sport) A loss of possession of the ball to the opposing team.^(ODE 2010)^(OED 2026)

+ # An act of turning over; an [[upset]] or overturning.^(MWU 2024)^(AHD 2024)

+ # A sudden change or transfer, as of [[power]], ownership or votes.^(AHD 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made with a part that folds or turns over: ''a turnover collar''.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[overturn]]

+ * [[turnaround]]

+ * [[turn]]

+ * [[over]]

+ * [[takeover]]

+ * [[handover]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}