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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

-ward en · X

Pronunciation

  • /wəd/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /wɚd/ (General-American)
  • /wɔɹd/ (General-American)
  • /wɔːd/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wert-der. Proto-Germanic *wardaz Old English -weard English -ward From Old English -weard, from Proto-Germanic *wardaz, earlier *warþaz (“turned toward, in the direction of, facing”); compare -wards, from -weardes. Cognate with Dutch -waarts, Low German -warts, German -wärts, Old Norse -verðr, Icelandic -verðr, Swedish -vart, Gothic -𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐌸𐍃 (-wairþs), Latin vertere (“to turn”) or versus (“toward”), and Sanskrit वर्तते (vártate, “he turns”). Also related to worth (“to become”). Compare verse.

Meanings

  1. (morpheme) Forming adverbs denoting course or direction to, or motion or tendency toward, as in "backward", "toward", "forward", etc.
    • And after dinner, with a kindly wink, she bade them accompany the Reverend, who briskly walked hallward. 1957 March 7, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 4.7, in Pnin, Heinemann, page 102:
  2. (morpheme) Forming adjectives, as in "a backward look", "the northward road", etc; used even by speakers who usually use -wards for adverbs.

Translations (16)

pl -ie (forming adverbs) · sv -åt (forming adverbs) · nl -waarts (forming adverbs) · pl -o (forming adverbs) · ar ـًا، ـاً (forming adverbs) · hu -i (forming adjectives) · pl -i (forming adjectives) · pl -y (forming adjectives) · ar لـ (forming adverbs) · he ־ה (forming adverbs) · hu -felé (forming adverbs) · de -wärts (forming adverbs) · he ל־ (forming adverbs) · nl -waarts (forming adjectives) · yi אַר־ (forming adverbs) · nv -jigo (forming adverbs)