Etymograph

English

turnsole

Turnsole comes from French tournesol ‘sunflower’, from Latin sōl ‘the Sun’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóh₂wl̥1‘sun’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōl1‘the Sun’
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentSole1
  4. Italianc. 1300–presenttornasole1‘sunflower’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presenttournesol2‘sunflower’
  6. Englishtodayturnsole2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, French tournesol
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English turnsole

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sóh₂wl̥Wiktionary, French tournesol‘sun’reconstructed
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsōlWiktionary, French tournesol‘the Sun’
  3. Italianc. 1300–presentSoleWiktionary, French tournesol
  4. Italianc. 1300–presenttornasoleWiktionary, French tournesol‘sunflower’
  5. Frenchc. 1600–presenttournesolWiktionary, English turnsole‘sunflower’
  6. EnglishtodayturnsoleWiktionary, English turnsole

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *sóh₂wl̥ ‘sun’

sun, southern, helium, 4 more

through Latin sōl ‘the Sun’

solar, sol, soleil, solano, 6 more

through Italian Sole

parasol

Today it means

noun A heliotrope; so named because its flowers are supposed to turn toward the sun.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “turnsole”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for French tournesol. 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 *sóh₂wl̥ / turnsole

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