Originally Posted By: The Pook
So for example the 'enter' button on computer keyboards is sometimes called the 'return' button. The word 'return' in this context is a vestigial reference to the 'carriage return' function of a typewriter. Hitting 'return' on a computer keyboard enters data or inserts a new paragraph marker, etc, it does not make the carriage on the printer return to the left, but we still say 'hit return.'

It does make the cursor return to the left side of the screen.

The whole bit about ringing reminds me that hanging up a phone would qualify, too. The British "ring off" (do y'all still say that?) is even moreso.