"revolve or move round a center or axis," 1794, intransitive, back-formation from rotation. The transitive sense of "cause to revolve upon an axis or support" is by 1823. Related: Rotated; rotating.
early 13c., of a wheel, "to rotate, roll over," from over- + turn (v.). Attested from c. 1300 in general transitive sense "to throw over violently;" figurative meaning "to ruin, destroy" is from late 14c. Of judicial decisions, "to reverse," it is attested from 1826. Related: Overturned; overturning. Old English had oferweorpan "to overturn, overthrow."
"to render prone," specifically to rotate the hand so that its palmar surface faces in the same direction as the posterior surface of the ulna, 1819, from Late Latin pronatus, past participle of pronare "to bend forward," from pronus "prone" (see prone). Related: Pronated; pronator; pronating. As an adjective, "bent into a prone position," by 1848.
1650s, "to work with aid of a dial or compass; measure with or as with a dial," from dial (n.). Sense of "rotate the dial plate of a telephone to indicate the number to which a connection is to be established" is from 1921. Related: Dialed; dialing.
mid-15c., "turn (something) away (from something else); rotate" (transitive), "cause to revolve;" also "go in a circle, turn round" (intransitive), from Old French girer and directly from Latin gyrare, verb derived from gyrus "circle, circular course, round, ring" (see gyre (n.)). Related: Gyred; gyring.
"pivoted piece designed to fit into the teeth of a ratchet-wheel, permitting the wheel to rotate in one direction but not in the other," 1650s, rochet, from French rochet "bobbin, spindle," from Italian rocchetto "spool, ratchet," diminutive of rocca "distaff," possibly from a Germanic source (compare Old High German rocko "distaff," Old Norse rokkr), from Proto-Germanic *rukka-, from PIE root *ruk- "fabric, spun yarn." Compare rocket (n.2). The current spelling in English dates from 1721, influenced by synonymous ratch, which perhaps is borrowed from German Rätsche "ratchet."
late 14c., revolven, "to change; change direction, bend around," from Old French revolver and directly from Latin revolvere "roll back, unroll, unwind; happen again, return; go over, repeat," from re- "back, again" (see re-) + volvere "to roll" (from PIE root *wel- (3) "to turn, revolve").
From early 15c. as "to turn over (in the mind or heart), meditate." Also formerly "to pass through periodic changes," hence "to come around in process of time" (1590s).
The transitive sense of "cause (something) to move in an orbit around a central point" is from 1660s. Intransitive sense of "perform a circular motion" about or round a fixed point, as the planets about the sun, is by 1713; that of "rotate, turn or roll about upon an axis or center" is by 1738. Related: Revolved; revolving; revolvement; revolvency.
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to turn, revolve," with derivatives referring to curved, enclosing objects.
It forms all or part of: archivolt; circumvolve; convoluted; convolution; devolve; elytra; evolution; evolve; Helicon; helicopter; helix; helminth; lorimer; ileus; involve; revolt; revolution; revolve; valve; vault (v.1) "jump or leap over;" vault (n.1) "arched roof or ceiling;" volte-face; voluble; volume; voluminous; volute; volvox; volvulus; vulva; wale; walk; wallet; wallow; waltz; well (v.) "to spring, rise, gush;" welter; whelk; willow.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit valate "turns round," ulvam "womb, vulva;" Lithuanian valtis "twine, net," vilnis "wave," apvalus "round;" Old Church Slavonic valiti "roll, welter," vlŭna "wave;" Greek eluein "to roll round, wind, enwrap," eilein "twist, turn, squeeze; revolve, rotate," helix "spiral object;" Latin volvere "to turn, twist;" Gothic walwjan "to roll;" Old English wealwian "roll," weoloc "whelk, spiral-shelled mollusk;" Old High German walzan "to roll, waltz;" Old Irish fulumain "rolling;" Welsh olwyn "wheel."
late Old English turnian "to rotate, revolve," in part also from Old French torner "to turn away or around; draw aside, cause to turn; change, transform; turn on a lathe" (Modern French tourner), both from Latin tornare "to polish, round off, fashion, turn on a lathe," from tornus "lathe," from Greek tornos "lathe, tool for drawing circles," from PIE root *tere- (1) "to rub, turn." Transitive sense in English is from c. 1300. Related: Turned; turning.
Use in expression to turn (something) into (something else) probably retains the classical sense of "to shape on a lathe." To turn up "arrive, make an appearance" is recorded from 1755. Turn about "by turns, alternately" is recorded from 1640s. To turn (something) loose "set free" is recorded from 1590s. Turn down (v.) "reject" first recorded 1891, American English. Turn in "go to bed" is attested from 1690s, originally nautical. To turn the stomach "nauseate" is recorded from 1620s. To turn up one's nose as an expression of contempt is attested from 1779.
Turning point is attested by 1640s in a figurative sense "point at which a decisive change takes place;" literal sense "point on which a thing turns; point at which motion in one direction ceases and that in another or contrary direction begins" is from 1660s.
