Where does “homeward” come from?
Homeward comes from Middle English homward, Old English hāmweard, and Proto-Germanic haimawarda, a compound of haima meaning home and warda meaning direction or turning.
homeward (English): Towards home; oriented towards home
Definitions
- Towards home; oriented towards home
Ancestry of “homeward”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | homward | homeward; To the town or nation a person... |
| 2 | Old English | hāmweard | — |
| 3 | Old English | hām | home; village, community; village, hamlet, manor,... |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | haim | home |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | haimaz | home; house; village |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱóymos | of the home, belonging to the family; village,... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱey- | to be lying down; to settle |