English
westward
Westward comes from Old English westweard ‘westward, in the west’, from Proto-West Germanic *westr ‘western, westernly’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wek⁽ʷ⁾speros ‘evening, dusk’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wek⁽ʷ⁾speros‘evening, dusk’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*westraz‘west, western’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*westr‘western, westernly’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150west
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150westweard‘westward, in the west’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500westward
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wek⁽ʷ⁾speros‘evening, dusk’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*westraz‘west, western’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*westr‘western, westernly’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150west
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150westweard‘westward, in the west’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500westward
- Englishearliest quotation 1590same form
Earliest quotation: 1590, Christopher Marlowe, Tamburlaine the Great: “Looke here my boies, see what a world of…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *kʷséps ‘night’
through Proto-Indo-European *wek⁽ʷ⁾speros ‘evening, dusk’
through Proto-Germanic *westraz ‘west, western’
Today it means
adj Lying toward the west.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wek⁽ʷ⁾speros / westward