Where does “eastwards” come from?
Eastwards derives from English east, from Middle English est, from Old English -es, from Proto-Germanic austrą, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European aus-, related to Proto-Indo-European wer-.
eastwards (English): eastward
Ancestry of “eastwards”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | -wards | Forming adjectives and adverbs denoting course or... |
| 2 | Old English | -weardes | Alternative form of -weard |
| 3 | Old English | -es | possessive marker, indicating that an object... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | -as | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |