Syntaxiom

westwards

/ˈwɛstwɝdz/ adv

westward, towards the west

Word Origin Westwards is a directional compound from Proto-Germanic 'west-' (the direction of the setting sun) and 'wardaz' (turning toward). So it's literally 'west-ward', moving toward the sunset. The -s is an old adverbial genitive. The same pattern gives us eastward, northward, southward, and all the other -ward words. The PIE root *wes- is related to evening, vespers.

adv westward, towards the west

The migrating birds flew westwards for the winter.

(副词) 向西；往西

候鸟向西迁徙过冬。

(adverbio) hacia el oeste; al oeste

Las aves migratorias volaron hacia el oeste durante el invierno.

(adverbe) vers l'ouest; en direction de l'ouest; à l'ouest [Vers l'ouest, en direction de l'ouest.]

Les oiseaux migrateurs ont volé westwards pour passer l'hiver.

(Adverb) westwärts; nach Westen [In westlicher Richtung, nach Westen hin.]

Die Zugvögel flogen **westwards**, um den Winter zu überstehen.

(副詞) 西の方へ、西に向かって。

渡りの鳥たちは冬を越すために西へと飛び立って行った。

(advérbio) para o oeste; em direção ao oeste; a ocidente; rumo ao oeste [para o oeste, em direção ao oeste]

As aves migratórias voaram para o oeste durante o inverno.

Synonyms: westward westerly west to the west in a westerly direction westbound Antonyms: eastwards eastward easterly east
Word parts: west + ward + s

Common collocations

to prep from prep across prep move verb into prep along prep towards prep extend verb past prep northwards adv spread verb road subst

Related words

west western westerner westerly westernize northwestern southwestern

Get offline access, pronunciation, spaced repetition, and learning games:

Download Syntaxiom →
📱 Offline access 🔊 Pronunciation 🧠 Spaced repetition 📖 Native language bridges