Middle English word retornen comes from Latin tornare, Latin re-, and later Old French re- (Re- (again; once more).)
| Dictionary entry | Language | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| tornare | Latin (lat) | |
| re- | Latin (lat) | Again; prefix added to various words to indicate an action being done again, or like the other usages indicated above under English.. Back, backwards. |
| torner | Old French (fro) | (transitive, or, intransitive) to turn. To return; to go back. |
| re- | Old French (fro) | Re- (again; once more). |
| retornare | Malayalam (mal) | |
| retorner | Old French (fro) | (intransitive) to return (go back to). (transitive) to turn again. |
| returner | Anglo-Norman (xno) | |
| returnen | Middle English (enm) |