Fweard

Part of speech: adjective, adverb

Definitions

1. An archaic term meaning ready, prepared, or in a state of readiness for something about to happen
2. A word from older English meaning prepared or in readiness, used of a person or thing set for action
3. Describing someone or something made ready in advance, an obsolete usage meaning prepared for what follows

Etymology: "Fweard" is an Old English word, and the spelling is the first surprise: the "fw" is a regular Old English form, and the word in use was spelled "feaward" or "feoward," the same root that gives modern English "forward." Its core sense was "ready, prepared, eager," a meaning that survives in the phrase "ready for action" given as its definition here. The word is built from "fore" with the Germanic element related to "ward," so its literal sense was "facing forward" or "ready to go." It appears in Old English texts such as Beowulf and related poetry, where warriors are described as prepared for battle. Over time the word's sense shifted toward "about to happen," and by the Middle English period it had largely disappeared from everyday use, leaving behind the modern "forward" and "toward."