Westwards comes from westward + adverbial -s, from Old English westweard ('toward the west'), from west + -weard ('-ward, in the direction of'). In current use it is an adverb meaning "toward the west". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English westweard and Old English -weard. Related English forms include west, western, and westerly. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.