English
detour
Detour comes from French détourner ‘turn away’, from Latin tornus ‘lathe’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tórh₁nosreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tórnosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτόρνοςtórnos‘a lathe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtornus‘lathe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtornōas tornāre‘turn’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400torner‘to turn’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600tourner‘to turn (to rotate)’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttourner‘to turn’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdétourner‘turn away’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdétour
- Englishearliest quotation 1918detour
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*terh₁-‘to rub, turn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tórh₁nosreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*tórnosreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτόρνοςtórnos‘a lathe’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtornus‘lathe’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEtornōas tornāre‘turn’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400torner‘to turn’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600tourner‘to turn (to rotate)’
- Frenchc. 1600–presenttourner‘to turn’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdétourner‘turn away’
- French, derivedc. 1600–presentdétour
- Englishearliest quotation 1918detour
Earliest quotation: 1918, –November, The Land That Time Forgot: “On the third day I made a detour westward…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- ‘to rub, turn’
throw, thread, tragic, threshold, trout, tyrone, detrimental, attrition, thrash, overturn, detriment, triage, trite, termite, tribulation, truant, thresher, detritus, tyro, upturn, thresh, derma, 37 more
through Latin tornō ‘turn’
return, tournament, turner, tourney, 7 more
through Old French torner ‘to turn’
through French tourner ‘to turn’
Today it means
noun A diversion or deviation from one's original route.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- / detour