toweard

From Proto-West Germanic *tōward. Equivalent to tō- +‎ -weard.

• IPA^(key): /toːˈwæ͜ɑrd/, [toːˈwæ͜ɑrˠd] (preposition)
• IPA^(key): /ˈtoːˌwæ͜ɑrd/, [ˈtoːˌwæ͜ɑrˠd] (adjective)

tōweard

1. toward (with genitive or dative)

tōweard

1. future

   Hæfst þū mīn tōwearde wīf ġemētt?

   Have you met my future wife?

   • c. 995, Ælfric,Extracts on Grammar in English

     Þrēo tīda sind on ǣlcum worde: andweard tīd, forðġewiten tīd, and tōweard tīd.

     There are three tenses for each verb: present tense, past tense, and future tense.

2. coming; impending, approaching

   sē tōwearda winter

   the coming winter

   • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Saint Augustine's Soliloquies

     Swā-swā scypes [hlāford], þonne þæt scyp unge-tǣlicost on ancre rīt and sēo sǣ hrēohost byð, ðonne wōt hē ġewiss smelte wedere tōwæard.

     So the ship's master, when the ship rideth most unsteadily at anchor and the sea is roughest, then knoweth of a truth that calm weather is coming.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, On the Seasons of the Year

     Menn magon cēpan be þæs mōnan blēo hwelċ weder tōweard biþ.

     People can observe from the color of the moon what kind of weather is coming.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "The Passion of the Apostles Simon and Jude"

     Hīe ġewunodon on ġehwelcre byrġ oþ þæt hīe ġeāscodon þā apostolas tōwearde.

     They stopped in every town until they heard that the apostles were on the way there.

   • c. 900, The Consolation of Philosophy

     Þēah hē nū nāwiht elles næbbe ymb tō sorgienne, þæt him mæġ tō sorge þæt hē nāt hwæt him tōweard biþ.

     Even if right now he has nothing else to worry about, it can still bother him that he doesn’t know what's in store for his future.

• tōweardes
• tōweardnes

• Middle English: toward
  • English: toward
  • Scots: towart