-ward
English
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-ward
- /wəd/ UK, unstressed
- /wɚd/ US, unstressed
- /wɔːd/ UK, stressed
- /wɔɹd/ US, stressed
Where it comes from
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.
suffix
- 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.
- Forming adjectives, as in "a backward look", "the northward road", etc; used even by speakers who usually use -wards for adverbs.
Translations
Talk about this word "-ward." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/-ward. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. -ward. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/-ward "-ward." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/-ward.Cite this
@misc{ward_2026,
title = {-ward},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/-ward},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
