Etymology

windward

W4I1N1D2W4A1R1D2

Today it means: Towards the wind, or the direction from which the wind is blowing. Full definition →

Proto-Germanic *wardaz ← Proto-Indo-European *wert- ← English wind
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂weh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂wḗh₁ti
  3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂wéh₁n̥ts
  4. Proto-Germanic*windaz
  5. Proto-West Germanic*wind
  6. Old Englishwind
  7. Middle Englishwynd
  8. Englishwind
  9. Proto-Indo-European*wert-
  10. Proto-Germanic*wardaz
  11. English todaywindward

From wind + -ward.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.