英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

diverse [diverse 词源字典]: diverse: [13] Diverse is one of a small family of English words, including also divers, divert, and divorce, which come ultimately from Latin dīvertere. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix dis- ‘aside’ and vertere ‘turn’ (source of English verse, version, vertebra, etc and related to worth), and hence meant literally ‘turn aside, turn out of the way’.

It developed in various metaphorical directions, however. One was ‘turn one’s husband or wife out of the way’ which, via the variant dīvortere, gave English divorce [14]. The central sense of the verb passed more or less unchanged into English, via French divertir, as divert [15], but its past participle diversus illustrates a further metaphorical strand, in which ‘turned aside’ has become ‘separate, different’.

English acquired this via Old French in the 13th century in two distinct forms: masculine divers and feminine diverse. The present-day semantic distinction between the former (‘various, several’) and the latter (‘different’) had established itself by around 1700.
=> divert, divorce, verse, version, worth[diverse etymology, diverse origin, 英语词源]
return: return: [14] The origins of return are in Vulgar Latin. There, Latin tornāre (source of English turn), which originally meant ‘turn on a lathe’, was combined with the prefix re- ‘back’ to produce *retornāre ‘turn back’, which passed via Old French retorner into English as return.
=> turn
turn: turn: [OE] The ultimate source of turn is Greek tórnos ‘lathe’, which was probably related to Latin terere ‘rub’ (source of English attrition, detritus, trite, etc). Latin took this over as tornus and formed a verb from it, tornāre ‘turn on a lathe’, hence ‘round off, make smooth’. Old English borrowed tornāre as turnian, which was later reinforced by Old French turner. To the same word family belong tour and tournament.
=> attrition, detriment, detritus, tour, tournament, trite
turncoat: turncoat: [16] A turncoat is someone who abandons or betrays a group or cause and joins its opponents. The story goes – probably apocryphally – that there was once a Duke of Saxony whose territories abutted those of France. Clearly anxious always to make the right impression, he had a coat made which was blue on one side and white on the other. When he wished to be seen to be supporting the French interest he wore it with the white side outwards, and when he did not, he wore it with the blue side outwards.

Documentation of this tale is lacking, and probably the expression had a much less specific origin (the phrase turn one’s coat for ‘betray one’s loyalties’ is contemporaneous).
hinge (v.): c. 1600, "to bend," from hinge (n.). Meaning "turn on, depend" is from 1719. Related: Hinged; hinging.
intend (v.): c. 1300, "direct one's attention to," from Old French entendre, intendre "to direct one's attention" (in Modern French principally "to hear"), from Latin intendere "turn one's attention, strain," literally "stretch out, extend," from in- "toward" (see in- (2)) + tendere "to stretch" (see tenet). Sense of "have as a plan" (late 14c.) was present in Latin. A Germanic word for this was ettle, from Old Norse ætla "to think, conjecture, propose," from Proto-Germanic *ahta "consideration, attention" (cognates: Old English eaht, German acht). Intended (n.) "one's intended husband or wife" is from 1767.
intention (n.): mid-14c., from Old French entencion "stretching, intensity, will, thought" (12c.), from Latin intentionem (nominative intentio) "a stretching out, straining, exertion, effort; attention," noun of action from intendere "to turn one's attention," literally "to stretch out" (see intend).
payback (n.): also pay-back, 1946, "net return on profits from an investment," from pay (v.) + back (adj.). Meaning "revenge" is attested from 1957.
recriminate (v.): "return one accusation with another," c. 1600, from Medieval Latin recriminatus, past participle of recriminari "to make charges against," from Latin re- "back, again" (see re-) + criminari "to accuse," from crimen (genitive criminis) "a charge" (see crime). Related: Recriminated; recriminating.
reflect (v.): late 14c., "turn or bend back;" early 15c., "to divert, to turn aside, deflect," from Old French reflecter (14c.), from Latin reflectere "bend back, turn back" (see reflection). Of mirrors or polished surfaces, to shine back light rays or images, early 15c.; meaning "to turn one's thoughts back on" is c. 1600. Related: Reflected; reflecting.
round (v.): late 14c., "to make round," from round (adj.). Sense of "make a circuit round" is from 1590s. Sense of "bring to completeness" is from c. 1600; meaning "to approximate (a number)" is from 1934. Meaning "turn round and face, turn on and assault" is from 1882. Round out "fill up" is from 1856. Related: Rounded; rounding.
superintendent (n.): 1550s, originally an ecclesiastical word meaning "bishop" or "minister who supervises churches within a district" (ultimately a loan-translation of Greek episkopos "overseer"), from Medieval Latin superintendentem (nominative superintendens), present participle of Late Latin superintendere "oversee," from Latin super "above" (see super-) + intendere "turn one's attention to, direct" (see intend). Famously used by 16c. radical Protestants in place of bishop, which to them was tainted by Papacy.
[Martinists] studie to pull downe Bishopps, and set vp Superintendents, which is nothing else, but to raze out good Greeke, & enterline bad Latine. [Lyly, "Pappe with an Hatchet," 1589]
The general sense of "a person who has charge of some business" is first recorded 1580s. Meaning "janitor, custodian" is from c. 1935. Shortened form super first attested 1857, especially at first of overseers of sheep ranches in Australia. As an adjective meaning "superintending," from 1590s.
tergiversate (v.): 1650s, back-formation from tergiversation, or else from Latin tergiversatus, past participle of tergiversari "be evasive," literally "to turn one's back." Related: Tergiversated; tergiversating.
tergiversation (n.): turning dishonestly from a straightforward action or statement; shifting, shuffling, equivocation, 1560s, from Latin tergiversationem (nominative tergiversatio) "a shifting, evasion, declining, refusing," from past participle stem of tergiversari "turn one's back on, evade," from tergum "the back" (of unknown origin) + versare "to spin, turn" (see versus).
thwart (adv.): c. 1200, from a Scandinavian source, probably Old Norse þvert "across," originally neuter of thverr (adj.) "transverse, across," cognate with Old English þweorh "transverse, perverse, angry, cross," from Proto-Germanic *thwerh- "twisted, oblique" (cognates: Middle Dutch dwers, Dutch dwars "cross-grained, contrary," Old High German twerh, German quer, Gothic þwairhs "angry"), altered (by influence of *thwer- "to turn") from *therkh-, from PIE *terkw- "to twist" (cognates: Latin torquere "to twist," Sanskrit tarkuh "spindle," Old Church Slavonic traku "band, girdle," Old High German drahsil "turner," German drechseln "to turn on a lathe"), possibly a variant of *twerk- "to cut." From mid-13c. as an adjective.
turn (v.): 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, rub by turning, turn, twist" (see throw (v.)). 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.
turn-on (n.): that which arouses or excites, 1968, originally of psychedelic drugs, from verbal phrase turn on "activate (a mechanism)" (1833), specifically from figurative sense turn (someone) on "excite, stimulate, arouse," recorded from 1903; from turn (v.) + on (adv.).
turncoat (n.): 1550s, from turn (v.) + coat (n.). The image is of one who attempts to hide the badge of his party or leader. The expression to turn one's coat "change principles or party" is recorded from 1560s.
Midas touch: "The ability to turn one's actions to financial advantage; the fact of having one's actions always bring financial reward, whether intentionally or not", Mid 17th cent..