- return (v.)
- mid-14c., "to come back," from Old French retorner "turn back, return," from re- "back" (see re-) + torner "to turn" (see turn (v.)). Transitive sense is attested from early 15c. Related: Returned; returning.
- return (n.)
- late 14c., "act of coming back," from Old French retorne from retorner (see return (v.)). In the tennis sense, it is from 1886. Meaning "official report of election results" is attested from mid-15c. Meaning "a yield, a profit" is recorded from 1620s. Many happy returns of the day was used by Addison, 1716.