ward

The suffix –ward is used to mean “in the direction of,” either in time or space. It is often used in everyday and technical terms.

The form –ward comes from Old English –weard, meaning “towards.”

What are variants of –ward?

The suffix –ward is more common in North American English. In British English, the variant –wards, as in towards, is more commonly used. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article on –wards.

An example of a word you have likely encountered that features –ward is backward, “toward the back or rear.” Backward comes from the Middle English bakwarde, which uses the equivalent of the form in that language.

The first part of the word indicates the direction. In this case, back– means “rear.” As we already know, –ward means “toward” or “in the direction of.” Backward literally means “toward the back” or “in the direction of the back.”

What are some words that use the combining form -ward (using the equivalent form of –ward in Middle or Old English)?

• afterward
• forward
• homeward
• seaward
• toward
• upward

What are some other forms that –ward may be commonly confused with?

• -ware
• -ard

Not every word that ends with the exact letters –ward or –wards, such as reward or coward, is necessarily using the combining form –ward to denote “direction.” Learn why coward means “lacking courage” at our entry for the word.

Given the meaning of the suffix –ward, what does seaward mean?