Where does “earthward” come from?
Earthward derives from Middle English erthewarde, a compound of earth and the directional suffix -ward.
earthward (English): Towards or in the direction of the earth
Definitions
- Towards or in the direction of the earth
Ancestry of “earthward”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | ertheward | }} The surface of the Earth |
| 2 | Middle English | erthe | Earth; the world; The Earth's people or... |
| 3 | Old English | eorþe | ground; the planet Earth; dirt |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | erþu | earth, world; earth, soil |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | erþō | earth |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁er- | earth |
Words derived from “earthward”