-wards

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See also: wards and -ward

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English -wardes, from Old English -weardes, a variant of -weard; equivalent to -ward +‎ -s (adverbial suffix).

Pronunciation

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Suffix

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-wards

  1. Forming adjectives and adverbs denoting course or direction to, or motion or tendency toward, as in "backwards", "towards", etc.

Usage notes

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  • The choice between -ward and -wards is individual or dialectal; both are widely used with adverbs, though -ward is heavily favoured for adjectives.
  • Adverbs ending in -wards (Anglo-Saxon -weardes) and some other adverbs, such as besides, betimes, since (earlier sithens), etc., originated as genitive forms used adverbially.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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