Etymograph

English

adversion

Adversion comes from Latin adversiō ‘turning, directing’, from advertō ‘to turn to or towards’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-1‘to turn, to rotate, spin’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wértetor1‘to turn, be turning’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertō1‘to turn’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertō1‘to turn, turn oneself, direct one's way, to turn about, turn around, revolve’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadvertō2‘to turn to or towards’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadversiō3‘turning, directing’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadversiōnem3
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1642adversion3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin adverto
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin adversio
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English adversion
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1642, Henry More, Cambridge: “And if the eye / Of her adversion were…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wert-Wiktionary, Latin adverto‘to turn, to rotate, spin’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wértetorWiktionary, Latin adverto‘to turn, be turning’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*wertōWiktionary, Latin adverto‘to turn’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEvertōWiktionary, Latin adverto‘to turn, turn oneself, direct one's way, to turn about, turn around, revolve’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadvertōWiktionary, Latin adversio‘to turn to or towards’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadversiōWiktionary, English adversion‘turning, directing’
  7. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEadversiōnemWiktionary, English adversion
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1642adversionWiktionary, English adversion. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1642, Henry More, Cambridge: “And if the eye / Of her adversion were…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *wert- ‘to turn, to rotate, spin’

word, worth, weird, ridiculous, universe, ridicule, invert, deride, derision, wurst, derisive, 58 more

through Proto-Italic *wertō ‘to turn’

inverse, transverse, perverse, averse, vertebra, evert, extraversion, 40 more

through Latin vertō ‘to turn, turn oneself, direct one's way, to…’

university, divorce, conversation, vertical, versus, diverse, diversity, verse, vortex, versatile, convertible, divert, revert, pervert, vertex, vertigo, avert, vertebrate, introvert, diversion, subvert, diversification, vert, inversion, aversion, verso, perversion, reversion, perversity, 46 more

through Latin advertō ‘to turn to or towards’

advertisement, 7 more

Today it means

noun A tendency or wish to avoid someone or something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “adversion”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin adverto, Latin adversio. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wert- / adversion

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