Turn

Part of speech: verb, noun

Pronunciation: /tɜːn/

Definitions

1. To rotate or change direction, or to cause something to move around a central point
2. To shift the position of something by rotating it or alter its course, while also indicating a change in direction or an opportunity to act
3. The action of revolving an object or person around a point signifies a change in orientation or a shift in a particular process

Etymology: The most surprising link is that "turn" and "throw" are relatives. Old English "þrāwan" meant "to turn, twist, wind," and it became modern "throw," so two everyday words for moving things through a curve share a root with a tool-maker's machine. That machine is the lathe: ancient Greek "tórnos" named a turning-lathe, a device for shaping circles, and Latin "tornāre" meant to round something off on one. The word reached English through two routes at once. Old English had "turnian" and "tyrnan," meaning to turn or revolve, and Old French had "torner," which came from the same Latin verb. Both streams merged in Middle English as "turnen," so the word arrived partly by inheritance and partly through French. English also once had other words for turning that have since largely disappeared. Old English "wendan," the source of "wend," and "trendan," the source of "trend," were pushed aside by "turn" in many of their uses, leaving "turn" to cover most senses of changing direction.

Synonyms: rotate, spin, twist, veer, change

Antonyms: stay, remain, halt, continue, persist