Etymograph

English

tower

Tower comes from Old English tūr and Old French tour, from Latin turris ‘tower’, possibly via Ancient Greek τύρσις, from a Mediterranean substrate.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτύρσις1as τύρρις‘tower’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEturris2‘a tower’
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150tūr2
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tour2
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611tower2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin turris
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English tower
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτύρσιςWiktionary, Latin turrisas τύρρις‘tower’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEturrisWiktionary, English tower‘a tower’
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150tūrWiktionary, English tower
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500tourWiktionary, English tower
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1611towerWiktionary, English tower. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a…”

Linked words

through Latin turris ‘a tower’

turret, tor, torr, 3 more

Another origin of tower

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150*torrianreconstructed
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500touren
  3. Englishtodaytower

Today it means

noun A tall, narrow structure (significantly taller than it is wide, either standing alone or forming part of a larger structure.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “tower”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin turris. 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 / Ancient Greek τύρσις / tower

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