Latin Love: vertere

To be versatile is to have the ability to turn this way and that, to be flexible and adaptable. The noun form, versatility, is a highly valued quality in a person or device because a versatile person or device may be easily used for multiple purposes.

Although the noun form reverse has a neutral connotation, revert, like its fraternal twin word regress, implies going backward in a negative sense, an undoing of developmental progress.

The adjective form of this verb, subversive, bears a sinister connotation, implying plots and schemes that are hatched by some underhanded (hence "sub") force. Although a dominant group can subvert a less powerful group, the word subvert is used more commonly to refer to reversals of power, as in the example sentence.

In math, an inverted fraction is one whose numerators and denominators flip sides, turning the fraction around. Although the word invert has that specific meaning in mathematics, in broader terms it can mean either turning something upside down or turning it inside out.

You'll often hear folks using the word adverse when the correct word is actually averse. Both words sound alike, and share the same root but something adverse involves harm or danger whereas being averse to something implies strong feelings of dislike and even hate for it.

An adversary is, simply, an opponent, or, in stronger situations, an enemy — someone you turn against, usually because you think that they will, or already have, turned against you.

The word perverse should not be confused with the words pervert and perverted, both of which have a seriously negative connotation. To be perverse (as opposed to being perverted) is simply to be rebellious, contrary, resistant to authority or tradition. The difference between the innocent word perverse and the not-innocent-at-all perverted illustrates the turns that words can take over years of communication.

Contro- means "against" or "in the opposite direction," and vers means "to turn or engage," so something controversial turns out opposing points of view, engaging folks on two or more different sides.

That poetry is called verse alludes to a "turning of a phrase," — a pleasant and clever combination of just the right words. Verse is a versatile word when used to talk about poetry — a verse may be a single line, a bunch of lines that go together (stanza), a whole poem itself, or the whole genre of poetry.

The prefix de- means "from" and the root vert means "to turn," so to divert is to turn to a different direction or veer from a path. A person's hobby referred to as a diversion means a path that turns away from everyday chores.

The prefix a- means "away from" and the root vert means "to turn," so to avert means "to turn away from" or, as it is used, "to avoid." A turn at the right fraction of a second on a winding road with a vehicle approaching unexpectedly in the opposite direction can avert the disaster of a collision.