Foreweard

Part of speech: adjective, adverb

Definitions

1. Archaic term for something positioned or moving toward the front ; describing what lies ahead in time or in the future
2. Old English word meaning situated in front or advancing forward ; referring to whatever is yet to come or lies in the coming days
3. Meaning directed toward the front or placed in advance ; applied to matters that belong to the time ahead or to what is coming

Etymology: "Foreweard" is an Old English word, built from "fore" ("before, in front") and "-weard" ("toward, facing"), a suffix that also gives us "homeward" and "backward." Its sense was spatial and literal: something turned or directed toward the front, or positioned in front of something else. The same pattern produced related Old English words such as "ætforan" and "onforan," all of which described position in space before they described time or rank. The word's modern descendant is "forward," which is the form English settled on by the late Middle Ages. The shift from "foreweard" to "forward" was a gradual wearing down of the unstressed second syllable, not a change in meaning. Over centuries "forward" moved from physical direction toward ideas of progress, eagerness, and boldness, so that a person can be "forward" in manner while still being literally facing ahead.

Synonyms: forward, ahead, forthcoming, front, onward

Antonyms: backward, behind, rearward, backwards, reverse