Revolve

How to spell revolve

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce revolve

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does revolve mean?

1. verbTo turn or spin around a central point or axis.

Revolve in a sentence

• The planets revolve slowly around the sun.

• The heavy doors at the hotel entrance revolve as guests pass through.

Where does revolve come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin verb revolvere, formed from the prefix re-, meaning 'back' or 'again', and volvere, meaning 'to roll' or 'to turn'. In Latin it literally meant to roll something backward or to turn it over, and it was also used figuratively for turning a thought over in one's mind. English took it in during the late Middle Ages, at first in that mental sense of pondering or considering, before the modern physical meaning of spinning around a central point became dominant. The same volvere root still turns up in a whole family of relatives such as 'revolution', 'evolve', 'involve' and even 'volume', a scroll that was literally rolled. Keeping that volv core in mind helps fix the spelling: the word ends in -olve, not -olv or -ulve.

How the word is built

• re- (back, again)
• volv (to roll, to turn)
• -e