INWARD


Meaning of INWARD in English

I. ˈinwərd, ˈinwəd adjective

Etymology: Middle English inward, from Old English inweard, inneweard, innanweard; Old English inweard akin to Middle Dutch inwaert inward, Old High German inwert, all from a prehistoric West Germanic compound whose first constituent is represented by Old English in, inn, adverb, in, and whose second constituent is represented by Old English -weard -ward; Old English inneweard from inne within (akin to Old High German & Old Norse inni within, Gothic inna, all from a prehistoric Germanic word derived from the word represented by Old English in, inn, adverb, in) + -weard -ward; Old English innanweard akin to Old Norse innanverthr inward, both from a prehistoric North Germanic-West Germanic compound whose first constituent is represented by Old English & Old Norse innan within, from within, Old High German innan, innana within, Gothic innana (all from a prehistoric Germanic word derived from the word represented by Old English in, inn, adverb, in) and whose second constituent is represented by Old English -weard -ward — more at in (adverb), -ward

1.

a. : situated on the inside : inner , internal

inward smile

the whole body moves in response to some inward rhythm — Ellen Glasgow

b. : produced from within : muffled

her words were inward and indistinct — Ann Radcliffe

2.

a. : of or relating to the mind or spirit : mental , spiritual

inward peace

the scholar … lives an inward and unmaterial life — P.E.More

inward struggle of the heroes to find their own truth — Leslie Rees

b. : of or relating to religious faith : devout , pious

monks … free the soul from corporeality and make it inward — José Ortega y Gasset

3.

a. : of or relating to close acquaintance : familiar , intimate

intimate and inward , not outward from the child — R.L.Shayon

more inward with the Tudor-Stuart dramatists than any man … before or since — T.S.Eliot

b. obsolete : confidential , secret

what is inward between us, let it pass — Shakespeare

4. archaic : of or relating to the homeland : domestic

the dangers inward they foresaw would be from the noblemen removed from the Queen's Council — Robert Norton

5. : directed toward the interior : ingoing

inward slope of radiator grille — Car Life

Synonyms: see inner

II. adverb

or inwards “

Etymology: Middle English inward, inwardes; Middle English inward from Old English inweard, from inweard, adjective; Middle English inwardes from inward + -es (adverbially functioning gen. singular ending of nouns) — more at inward (adjective), -'s

1.

a. : toward the inside : toward the center or interior

the sides of the hole seemed to slope inward until they met — Gwyn Thomas

ships … that tried to run either inward or outward through the blockade — C.S.Forester

specifically : homeward

inward bound

b. obsolete : on the inside : internally

the maple seldom inward sound — Edmund Spenser

2. : toward the inner being : into the mind or spirit

his rich emotions began to turn inward — H.S.Canby

III. “, in sense 2 usually ˈinə(r)d noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English, from Old English inneweard, from inneweard, adjective — more at inward (adjective)

1. : an inner being or nature : essence , spirit

make thine inward like unto thine outward — John Payne

— usually used in plural

Jefferson puts the inwards of the issue in these terms — Archibald MacLeish

2.

a. : an inside or interior part

their forms fled to the dusky inward of his mysterious box — Ross Lockridge

— often used in plural

saw him … glare down into the mysterious inwards of the engine — Wallace Stegner

b. : innards — usually used in plural

the gastroenterologist manages our nervous inwards — Greer Williams

3. obsolete : an intimate friend : confidant

I was an inward of his — Shakespeare

IV. ˈinˌwȯrd noun

Etymology: Medieval Latin inwarda, inguarda, probably from (assumed) Old English inweard, from Old English in, inn, adverb, in + weard ward, action of guarding — more at in (adverb), ward (n.)

: bodyguard service rendered to a king by his sokemen when he visits their shire

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.