tor

• (US) IPA^(key): /toɹ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /tɔː/
• (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA^(key): /toː/

  • Audio (General Australian):

    (file)

• (Scotland) IPA^(key): /tɔːɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)
• Homophones: torr; tore (horse–hoarse merger); tour (UK, pour–poor merger); taw (non-rhotic)

From Middle English tor, torr-, from Old English torr, tor (“a high rock, lofty hill, tower”), possibly from Proto-Celtic, compare Old Welsh *tor (“hill”); ultimately from Latin turris (“tower”), from Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis), τύρσις (túrsis, “tower”), of non-Indo-European origin.

Cognate with Cornish tor, Scottish Gaelic tòrr, Welsh tŵr, Irish tor, French tor, and Romansch tor/tur/tuor; the first four are Celtic (from Latin turris), the last two directly from Latin turris (from Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis) and τύρσις (túrsis)). It is not clear whether the Celtic forms were borrowed from Old English or vice versa. Doublet of tourelle, tower, and turret.

tor (plural tors)

1. (geology) A craggy outcrop of rock on the summit of a hill, created by the erosion and weathering of rock.
   • 1855, Charles Kingsley, Westward Ho!: Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, […], volume I, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, page 183:

     Bursdon and Welsford were then, as now, a rolling range of dreary moors, unbroken by tor or tree, […]

   • 1901 August – 1902 April, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, chapter 9, in The Hound of the Baskervilles: Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes, London: George Newnes, […], published 1902, →OCLC:

     The moon was low upon the right, and the jagged pinnacle of a granite tor stood up against the lower curve of its silver disc.

2. (South-West England) A hill with such rock formation.
   • 2008, Lydia Joyce, Shadows of the Night‎^[1], Signet Eclipse, →ISBN, page 242:

     She had slipped the letters into her pocket next to the packet of antique documents and had taken an umbrella—as the sky was ominous out over the distant tors—and strolled around the manor house and down the road toward the village.

tor (comparative more tor, superlative most tor)

1. Alternative form of tore ("hard, difficult; strong; rich").

• ORT, OTR, ROT, RTO, TRO, ort, rot

From Dutch tor, from Middle Dutch torre. Compare the probably cognate Germanic etymology of English dor.

• IPA^(key): /tɔr/

• Audio:

  (file)

tor (plural torre)

1. beetle

• tornu

From Latin tornō. Compare Romanian turna, torn.

tor first-singular present indicative (third-person singular present indicative tore, past participle turate)

1. to return, come back
2. to pour
3. to respond
4. to rethink

• turari
• turat
• arãstor

• vers

Inherited from Proto-Common Turkic *tor. Cognate with Old Turkic [script needed] (tor, “net”), Southern Altai тор (tor, “net”).

• Audio:

  (file)

tor (definite accusative toru, plural torlar)

1. net

From Middle Breton torr, teur, from Old Breton tar, from Proto-Celtic *torr-V- (“belly”), of uncertain origin; according to Matasovic, of non-Indo-European origin, but according to MacBain, from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn, rub”), cognate with Proto-Germanic *þarmaz (“guts, intestines”), Ancient Greek τάμισος (támisos, “rennet”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈtoːr/

tor m (plural torioù, collective toroù)

1. (anatomy) belly, stomach, abdomen

• kof

tor

1. hard mutation of dor

• Matasović, Ranko (2009) “torrV-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 385
• MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “tor”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[2], Stirling, →ISBN, page tàrr

From Middle High German tor, from Old High German tor, from Proto-Germanic *durą (“large door; gate”). Cognate with German Tor, English door.

tor n (Luserna)

1. gate, gateway
2. large doorway

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

• IPA^(key): /toːr/, [tˢoːˀɐ̯]

tor

1. present of to

From Middle Dutch torre, of uncertain origin, possibly an imitative Middle Dutch base turren (“buzz”). Compare cognate West Frisian tuorre, toarre.

• IPA^(key): /tɔr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tor
• Rhymes: -ɔr

tor f (plural torren, diminutive torretje n)

1. beetle, insect of the order Coleoptera

• kever

• Afrikaans: tor

• van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “tor”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute

• rot

• IPA^(key): [ˈtor]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: tor
• Rhymes: -or

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

tor (plural torok)

1. (literary, archaic or folksy) meal, repast, feast (ceremonial meal held after weddings, funerals, or other special occasions)

   Synonym: lakoma

   halotti tor ― funeral feast

   disznótor ― meal on pig-killing day (literally, “pig meal”)

• disznótor

From Latin thorax, from Ancient Greek θώραξ (thṓrax, “breastplate, chest”), created during the Hungarian language reform, which took place in the 18th–19th centuries.

tor (plural torok)

1. (zoology) thorax (of an arthropod)

   Coordinate terms: fej, potroh

• (ceremonial meal): tor in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.
• (thorax): tor in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

• IPA^(key): /t̪ˠɔɾˠ/
• (Munster) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠʌɾˠ/^[1]

From Old Irish tor.

tor m (genitive singular toir, nominative plural toir)

1. bush, shrub; clump, tuft

   Synonym: tom

2. head (of cabbage)

   Synonym: ceann

• ó thor go tom (“from pillar to post”)
• tor caprais (“caper”)
• tor nimhe (“poison oak”)

Probably from Proto-Celtic (Cornish tor, Scottish Gaelic tòrr), possibly borrowed from Old English torr (“a high rock, tower”), though the reverse is more likely; all ultimately from Latin turris (“tower”) and of non-Indo-European origin.^[2]

More at English tor and tor. Also compare Latin Taurini.

tor m (genitive singular toir, nominative plural toir)

1. (geography) tall rock; steep rocky height
2. (literary) tower; towering warrior, pillar (of battle)

tor m

1. alternative form of toradh

tor m (genitive singular toir, nominative plural toir)

1. alternative form of tarathar

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “tor”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• “tor”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025

tor

1. alternative form of tour

From Latin turris, turrim.

• Audio (Gascony):

  (file)

tor f (plural tors)

1. tower

   Synonym: torre

2. (chess) rook

Chess pieces in Occitan · pèças d'escacs (layout · text)
rèi	rèina	tor	fòl	cavalièr	pion

tor m

1. alternative form of torr

From Latin turrim, from Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis), τύρσις (túrsis).

• tur, tour, toer

• IPA^(key): /ˈtuɾ/
• Rhymes: -ur

tor oblique singular, f (oblique plural tors, nominative singular tor, nominative plural tors)

1. tower

From Latin taurus.

• IPA^(key): /tɔr/
• Rhymes: -ɔr

tor oblique singular, m (oblique plural tors, nominative singular tors, nominative plural tor)

1. bull (bovine)

• torel (whence French taureau)

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔr
• Syllabification: tor

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *torъ, from *terti.

tor m inan

1. track, course, path
2. rail track
3. lane (a part of a sports track)
4. trajectory

From Latin thorium, from Old Scandinavian Thorr.

Chemical element
Th
Previous: aktyn (Ac)
Next: protaktyn (Pa)

tor m inan

1. thorium

Named for Evangelista Torricelli, an Italian physicist.

tor m inan (abbreviation Tr)

1. torr

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

tor

1. genitive plural of tora

• tor in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• tor in Polish dictionaries at PWN

From Latin torus.

tor n (plural toruri)

1. torus

• tur (Rumantsch Grischun, Sutsilvan)
• tuor (Sursilvan, Puter, Vallader)

From Latin turris, turrem, from Ancient Greek τύρρις (túrrhis), τύρσις (túrsis).

tor m (plural tors)

1. (Surmiran) tower

• IPA^(key): [téʊːɐ]

tor

1. March (month)

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *torъ.

• IPA^(key): /tôːr/

tȏr m inan (Cyrillic spelling то̑р)

1. corral, cote

• “tor”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
• “tor”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025

• toru
• toy

From Proto-Turkic *tōr- (“a kind of young animal”). Related to toy.

tor (definite accusative toru, plural torlar)

1. young
2. novice
3. whelp
4. beginner
5. recruit

• „tor“ in the dictionary of the Turkish language (TDK)
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “toraman”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “torun”, in Nişanyan Sözlük
• Nişanyan, Sevan (2002–) “torlak”, in Nişanyan Sözlük

Inherited from Proto-Common Turkic *tor (“net for catching birds or fish”). Cognate with Azerbaijani tor and Kazakh тор (tor).

tor (definite accusative toru, plural torlar)

1. (dialectal) net, mesh
2. (dialectal, by extension) mosquito net
3. (dialectal) trap

From Proto-Turkic *d(i)ār.

tor (comparative torroq, superlative eng tor)

1. narrow, tight

tor (plural torlar)

1. string

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

tor

1. (transitive) to take
2. (transitive) to get

• IPA^(key): [toɾ]

tor (nominative plural tors)

1. bull

• hibub

• kun
• jibub

• torül (“bull calf, male calf”)

• IPA^(key): /tɔr/

Deverbal from torri

tor m (uncountable)

1. breaking, breach

tor

1. (literary) third-person singular present/future of torri

   (colloquial) torrith, (colloquial) torriff

2. (literary) second-person singular imperative of torri

   (colloquial) torra

tor f (plural torrau or torroedd, diminutive torryn)

1. abdomen

• torllwyth (“litter, brood”)

• Griffiths, Bruce, Glyn Jones, Dafydd (1995) Geiriadur yr Academi: The Welsh Academy English–Welsh Dictionary‎^[3], Cardiff: University of Wales Press, →ISBN
• D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “tor”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “tor”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies