Etymograph

English

turning

Turning comes from Old English tyrning ‘an instance of turning around’.

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150tyrning1‘an instance of turning around’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500turnyng1
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1910turning1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English turning
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1910, Rudyard Kipling: “Still talking—more to herself than to the children—she swam…”.

Lineage

  1. Old Englishc. 450–1150tyrningWiktionary, English turning‘an instance of turning around’
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500turnyngWiktionary, English turning
  3. Englishearliest quotation 1910turningWiktionary, English turning. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1910, Rudyard Kipling: “Still talking—more to herself than to the children—she swam…”

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Today it means

noun A turn or deviation from a straight course.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “turning”. 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 / Old English tyrning / turning