-ward
-ward
a native English suffix denoting spatial or temporal direction, as specified by the initial element: toward; seaward; afterward; backward.
Also, -wards.
Origin:
Middle English; Old English -weard towards; cognate with German -wärts; akin to Latin vertere to turn (see verse)
Middle English; Old English -weard towards; cognate with German -wärts; akin to Latin vertere to turn (see verse)
Usage note
Both -ward and -wards occur in such words as backward, forward, upward, and toward. The -ward form is by far the more common in edited American English writing.
Both -ward and -wards occur in such words as backward, forward, upward, and toward. The -ward form is by far the more common in edited American English writing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To -ward
Collins
World English Dictionary
| -ward | |
| —suffix | |
| 1. | (forming adjectives) indicating direction towards: a backward step; heavenward progress |
| 2. | (forming adverbs) a variant and the usual US and Canadian form of -wards |
| [Old English -weard towards] | |
00:10
-ward
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
| -wards or -ward | |
| —suffix forming adverbs | |
| Compare -ward indicating direction towards: a step backwards; to sail shorewards | |
| [Old English -weardes towards] | |
| -ward or -ward | |
| —suffix forming adverbs | |
| [Old English -weardes towards] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
-ward
adv. suffix expressing direction, O.E. -weard "toward," lit. "turned toward," sometimes -weardes, with genitive singular ending of neuter adjectives, from P.Gmc. *warth (cf. O.S., O.Fris. -ward, O.N. -verðr), variant of PIE *wert- "to turn, wind," from base *wer- "to turn, bend" (see
versus). The original notion is of "turned toward."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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