Etymograph

English

upturn

Upturn comes from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-1‘to rub, turn’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500upturnen1
  3. Englishtodayupturn1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English upturn

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-Wiktionary, English upturn‘to rub, turn’root named by Wiktionary · steps between not traced
  2. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500upturnenWiktionary, English upturn
  3. EnglishtodayupturnWiktionary, English upturn

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’

throw, return, thread, tournament, tragic, threshold, trout, detrimental, turner, tyrone, detriment, attrition, thrash, detour, triage, trite, termite, tribulation, tourney, overturn, detritus, truant, thresher, tyro, thresh, tourniquet, derma, 37 more

Today it means

noun An upward turn or trend, especially in business activity or profit.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “upturn”. 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- / upturn

Shirt and support for this word