Retrovert

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To turn or cause to turn backward or in the reverse direction
2. To rotate or move something so that it faces the opposite way
3. To bend or swivel something back toward its original or rearward position

Etymology: "Retrovert" is built from the prefix "retro-", meaning "backward," joined to the Latin verb "vertere" ("to turn"), whose past participle "versum" gives English its "vert" stem. Put together, the word means to turn something backward, and it sits in a family of English words that all carry the idea of turning, such as "convert," "divert," and "avert." The Latin "retrorsus" ("turned backward") offers a close relative, and "retrovert" is a sibling of that adjective, sharing the same "retro-" and "vers-" elements. Both forms show how Latin speakers stacked "retro-" onto "verto" to describe motion or direction reversed.

Synonyms: reverse, invert, turn back, turn around, retract