Northwestward

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. Extending or progressing in a direction that is aligned with the intermediate point between north and west
2. Directed or situated toward the cardinal point that designates the area between north and west
3. Moving or situated in the direction midway between north and west

Etymology: Northwestward is a plain compound: "northwest" with the suffix "-ward" attached. The suffix comes from Old English "-weard," which meant "turned toward" or "facing in the direction of," and it is related to the same root that gives "ward" its sense of direction today. Old English "-weard" traces back through Proto-Germanic "wardazi" to a Proto-Indo-European base that also lies behind the verb "to wear" in some of its older, turning-related senses, though the connection is largely a matter of ancient root meaning rather than everyday English. The first element, "northwest," combines "north" and "west," so the whole word simply means "toward the northwest." Its construction parallels other compass-based adverbs like "eastward," "southward," and "westward," each built the same way by adding the suffix to a compass point.

Synonyms: northwest, northwesterly