English
return
Return comes from Middle English returnen, from Anglo-Norman returner, from Medieval Latin retornare ‘to turn back’ (re- + tornāre ‘to turn’).
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-1‘to rub, turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tórh₁nos1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tórnos1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτόρνος1tórnos‘turning-lathe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtornus1‘lathe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtornō2‘to turn’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500retornare2‘to turn back’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400retourner2
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400returner2
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500returnen2‘to return’
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485return2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Latin torno
- 2 Wiktionary, English return
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1470–1485, (please specify the chapter): “‘I suppose here is none woll be glad to…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-Wiktionary, Latin torno‘to rub, turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tórh₁nosWiktionary, Latin tornoreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tórnosWiktionary, Latin tornoreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτόρνοςWiktionary, Latin tornotórnos‘turning-lathe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtornusWiktionary, Latin torno‘lathe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtornōWiktionary, English return‘to turn’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500retornareWiktionary, English return‘to turn back’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400retournerWiktionary, English return
- Anglo-Normanc. 1066–1400returnerWiktionary, English return
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500returnenWiktionary, English return‘to return’
- Englishearliest quotation 1470–1485returnWiktionary, English return. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1470–1485, (please specify the chapter): “‘I suppose here is none woll be glad to…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’
throw, thread, tragic, threshold, trout, detrimental, tyrone, attrition, thrash, detriment, triage, trite, termite, tribulation, overturn, truant, detritus, tyro, thresher, derma, thresh, upturn, 37 more
through Medieval Latin tornō ‘to turn’
Today it means
verb To come or go back (to a place or person).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “return”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin torno. 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 *terh₁- / return