-ward  suffix (also -wards) added to nouns of place or destination and to adverbs of direction and forming: 1 adverbs (usu. -wards) meaning ‘towards’ (backwards; homewards). 2 adjectives (usu. -ward) meaning ‘turned or tending towards’ (downward; onward). 3 (less commonly) nouns meaning ‘the region towards or about’ (look to the eastward). [old english]