rearward

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈrɪrwɚd/ UK /ˈrɪəwəd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adv
toward or at the back; situated to the rear

The cavalry wheeled rearward to protect the supply train.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · toward or at the back;... backward behind aft rearwards

Opposites

forwardfrontwardahead

Word family

Derived forms rearwards

Related forms rearrearguard

Etymology

From rear + -ward; rear is from Old French rere ('behind'), from Latin retro ('back'); -ward is the Old English directional suffix -weard.

retro Latin -weard Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# rearward

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** /ˈrɪrwɚd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈrɪəwəd/

## Meanings
1. toward or at the back; situated to the rear

## Examples
- The cavalry wheeled rearward to protect the supply train.

## Synonyms
- backward
- behind
- aft
- rearwards

## Antonyms
- forward
- frontward
- ahead

## Derived Forms
- rearwards

## Related Forms
- rear
- rearguard

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: retro
- Root: -weard

## Etymology
From rear + -ward; rear is from Old French rere ('behind'), from Latin retro ('back'); -ward is the Old English directional suffix -weard.

## AI Etymology
Rearward comes from rear + -ward; rear is from Old French rere ('behind'), from Latin retro ('back'); -ward is the Old English directional suffix -weard. The historical chain includes Latin retro and Old English -weard. Older glosses in the chain include "behind" and "back", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, rearward is best read as compound, suffixal formation, and borrowing, yielding an English adverb, adjective, and noun shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a adverb, adjective, and noun, with the sense "toward or at the back; situated to the rear". English derivatives include rearwards; related forms include rear and rearguard. The result is an English adverb, adjective, and noun whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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