'Reverse' is Latin for 'turned back' — from 'vertere' (to turn). A complete about-face.
To move backwards; to make something the opposite of what it was; going in or turned toward the opposite direction. As a noun, the opposite side or direction; a setback.
From Old French "revers" (reverse, back), from Latin "reversus," past participle of "revertere" meaning "to turn back, to return," composed of "re-" (back, again) and "vertere" (to turn). Latin "vertere" derives from Proto-Indo-European *wert- (to turn, to wind), an exceptionally productive root across the entire family. PIE *wert- yielded Old English "weorðan" (to become — i.e., to turn into), Gothic "wairþan" (to become), Old High German "werdan" (to become, modern German "werden"), Old Norse "verða," Sanskrit
The 'reverse' of a coin — the back side, opposite the 'obverse' (the front, literally 'turned toward') — gives us the numismatic terms that coin collectors use. Both words are built from Latin 'vertere': the obverse is the side 'turned toward' the viewer, and the reverse is the side 'turned back.'