English
toward
Toward comes from Middle English toward ‘in the direction of’, and goes back to Proto-West Germanic *tōward.
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tōwardreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tōweard
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500toward‘in the direction of’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*tōwardreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150tōweard
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500toward‘in the direction of’
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
Earliest quotation: 1590, Edmund Spenser, Book II, Canto IV: “But ear that wiſhed day his beame diſcloſd, /…”
Formed from to + -ward
Proto-Indo-European *de ‘to’
…
Proto-Germanic *tō
Proto-West Germanic *tō
Old English tō ‘to’
Middle English to
English to
Every English word from Proto-West Germanic *tōward
Today it means
prep In the direction of.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-West Germanic *tōward / toward