English
Suffix
rfc-split|-wards
-ward or -wards
- Forming adverbs denoting course or direction to, or motion or tendency toward, as in "backward" and "backwards", "toward" and "towards", etc.
- (usually -ward) Forming adjectives, as in "a backward look", "the northward road", etc; used even by speakers who usually use -wards for adverbs.
Etymology
rfc-level|Etymology not at level 3
From AS. -weard, -weardes; akin to Old Saxon and Old Frisian -ward. Old High German -wert, German -wärts, Icelandic -verðr, Gothic -vaÃrþs, Latin vertere to turn, versus toward, and English worth to become. See wort, intransitive verb, and compare verse.
Pronunciation
-ward:
*IPA: /w�(r)d/
-wards:
*IPA: /w�(r)dz/
Usage notes
- The choice between -ward and -wards is individual or dialectal; both are widely used.
- Adverbs ending in -wards (Anglo-Saxon -weardes) and some other adverbs, such as besides, betimes, since Old English sithens.) etc., originated as genitive forms used adverbially.
- The adjectives toward (initial stress) and forward have meanings not predictable from the meaning of -ward.
- Awkward has retained the form but lost much of the sense in its use of this suffix.
Translations
trans-top|forming adverbs
Dutch: -waarts
Hebrew: -�, �-
trans-mid
Yiddish: �ַר-
trans-bottom
trans-top|forming adjectives
Dutch: -waarts
trans-mid
trans-bottom
Category:English suffixes|ward
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