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windward

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Etymology and origin of the English word windward

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1550 The Complaynt of Scotland More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Old English wind,-weard
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English wind
English windward
From the same root
English rewind ← wind
English windmill ← wind
English windpipe ← wind
English windshield ← wind
English woodwind ← wind

Pronunciation

  • /ˈwɪndwə(ɹ)d/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English wind + -ward.[2][3][4][5][6] The OED compares the earlier wind side and weather side, and the opposite leeward;[2][4] the nautical pronunciation win'ard is a reduced form like those of rowlock and treenail.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The direction from which the wind is blowing: about 1550, in The Complaynt of Scotland, in the revised OED.[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged dates the noun 1549,[5] and Etymonline to the 1510s.[3]

Semantic evolution

The noun was used chiefly in the phrase to windward, which the OED says is now its only use.[2] The adverb, "towards the wind", followed in 1592,[2] and the adjective, "facing the wind", in 1615;[2] Etymonline dates the adjective to the 1680s.[3] From 1627, in John Smith's Sea Grammar, the adjective was used of a tide running against the wind; a ship that sails close to the wind has been called windward since 1826.[2] A figurative sense, an advantageous or safe position over someone, as in to get to windward of, is recorded from 1679.[2][7] Johnson (1755) entered the word only as an adverb.[8]

Timeline

  • c. 1550 – noun, the direction from which the wind blows.[2]
  • 1592 – adverb, towards the wind.[2]
  • 1615 – adjective, situated towards the wind.[2]
  • 1627 – of a tide, running against the wind.[2][5]
  • 1679 – an advantageous or secure position over another.[2]
  • 1826 – of a sailing ship, able to sail close to the wind.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. On or towards the side from which the wind is blowing: the windward shore of the island.[7][5][2]
  2. Moving against the wind.[5][2]
  3. Of a sailing ship, able to sail close to the wind.[2]

Noun

  1. The side or direction from which the wind blows, as in to windward; opposed to leeward.[7][5][2]
  2. to windward of: in an advantageous position with respect to someone or something.[7][2]

Adverb

  1. Towards the wind.[7][2][8]

Word family

  • windwardness
  • Windward Islands

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  7. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
Cite this entry

“Windward.” Etymologically, 7 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/en/windward. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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