fromward

English

Alternative forms

• frammard, fromard, frommard, frommart, frommet, frommud, vrammard, vrammerd (dialectal)

Etymology

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

fromward (comparative more fromward, superlative most fromward)

1. Turned away; averse.
2. (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

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

fromward (comparative more fromward, superlative most fromward)

1. (now dialect, Southern England, Midlands, West Country) Forth; forward.

Noun

fromward (plural fromwards)

1. (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

• frower, froe, frow

Preposition

fromward

1. (now dialect, Southern England, Midlands, West Country) From; away from.

Synonyms

• fromwards

Antonyms

• toward

Derived terms

• frommarding

Translations

away from (the opposite of "toward")

Hungarian: felől (hu)

References

• Wright, Joseph (1900), The English Dialect Dictionary‎, volume 2, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 505