Old English

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Etymology

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From tōweard +‎ -nes.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈtoːˌwæ͜ɑrd.nes/, [ˈtoːˌwæ͜ɑrˠd.nes]

Noun

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tōweardnes f

  1. the future

Usage notes

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Tōweardnes was generally used without a definite article: Hwā wāt hwæt tōweardnes bringþ? (“Who knows what the future will bring?”), Iċ cume of tōweardnesse (“I come from the future”), Iċ wæs þǣr. On tōweardnesse. Nān þing næs tō lāfe (“I was there. In the future. Nothing was left”). As you might expect, this rule does not apply when referring to a particular future: Sēo tōweardnes þe þū wilt is unġelīc þǣre tōweardnesse þe iċ wille (“The future that you want is different from the future that I want”). Forþġewitennes (“the past”) and andweardnes (the present) work the same way.

Declension

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