fromward
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English fromward, framward, from Old English framweard (“about to depart, departing, doomed to die; with his back turned”, adjective) and framweardes (“away from”, adverb), equivalent to from + -ward. Compare froward.
Adjective edit
fromward (comparative more fromward, superlative most fromward)
- Turned away; averse.
- (now dialect, Southern England, Midlands, West Country) Leaning or listing away from; distant from; on the right-hand side; on the opposite side.
Usage notes edit
Traditionally used in ploughing (or similarly with harvest-field teams) in which the driver walks on the left-hand side; hence the right-hand side being linked with the off-hand or opposite side.
Adverb edit
fromward (comparative more fromward, superlative most fromward)
- (now dialect, Southern England, Midlands, West Country) Forth; forward.
Noun edit
fromward (plural fromwards)
- (now dialect, Southern England, Midlands, West Country) A cleaving tool; an iron instrument with a blade set at right angles on a short handle, used for splitting laths or rails.
Synonyms edit
Preposition edit
fromward
- (now dialect, Southern England, Midlands, West Country) From; away from.
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
References edit
- Wright, Joseph (1900) The English Dialect Dictionary[1], volume 2, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 505