Andweard

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Archaic term for something that is currently present, existing, or close at hand ; describing what lies ahead in time, still to come
2. Old English-derived adjective meaning existing now or within immediate reach ; referring to what is coming later or still to happen
3. Obsolete word describing a thing that is here at the moment ; also used of events or conditions that are expected to arrive in the future

Etymology: Andweard is an Old English word, and its surprise lies in its survival: it is the ancestor of "onward" and "toward," yet it once meant "present" or "at hand" in the sense of something right in front of you. Its roots are simple. The prefix "and-" meant "against" or "in return," and "weard" meant "turned toward" (the same element that gives "-ward" in "backward"), so the literal sense was something like "turned toward" or "facing" a person or thing. From that sense of facing, the word developed the idea of being present or existing at the moment. Old English speakers used it to describe what was there, available, or current, and this is the meaning the adjective keeps here. Its later descendants split into different paths: "toward" kept the directional sense, while "onward" took the sense of moving forward.