Onwards

How to spell onwards

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce onwards

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does onwards mean?

1. adverbContinuing forward in space or time; from a particular point or moment forward.

Onwards in a sentence

• The new pricing applies from the first of the month onwards.

• The troops pressed steadily onwards through the valley.

Where does onwards come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word descends from Old English, the native Anglo-Saxon stage of the language, where the elements 'on' and 'weard' combined to express movement in a forward direction. The piece '-weard' literally meant 'turned towards' or 'facing', and it survives in many English direction words such as 'forward', 'backward', and 'toward'. The final '-s' is an old adverbial genitive ending, the same survival that gives us 'always', 'besides', and 'towards'; in earlier English adding '-s' was a regular way to turn a word into an adverb. Over time 'onward' came to mean continuing ahead in space, and then by extension continuing ahead in time, as in events happening from a certain date onwards. The form with the '-s' became especially settled in British and Canadian usage, while American writers more often drop it and prefer the bare 'onward', which is the main reason the ending feels uncertain to many writers.

How the word is built

• on (forward in space or time)
• -ward (in the direction of)
• -s (adverbial genitive ending)