upward, adv., prep., a., and n.
(ˈʌpwəd)
Forms: α. 1 upweard (2 uppweard), 2– upward (3 Orm. uppwarrd), 3–7 vpward (4–5 opward), 4–6 vp-, 6 vpp(e)warde; 3 (9 Sc.) upwart, 5, Sc. 6 vpwart (5 Sc. wp-). β. 3–4, dial. 9 uppard, 4 vppard, 3–4 vpard, 4 opard; 3 uppart, 5 Sc. vpart.
[OE. upweard, f. up up adv.1 + weard -ward. Cf. MLG. upwart, -wort, MDu. opwaert, -wert, -werd, etc. (Du. opwaart), MHG. ufwart, -wert. See also upwards.]
A. adv. I. 1. To or towards a higher position or plane; from a lower to a loftier level or object; in an ascending course or direction: a. In reference to movement or extension through space.
Occas. upward and downward, = up and down adv. 1.
| α a 900 Cynewulf Elene 805 (Gr.), He mid bæm handum..upweard pleᵹade. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 548 Ða ᵹewende eal se sang upweard to heofenum. c 1200 Ormin 12826 Ȝe shulenn sen..Godess enngless Uppwarrd & dunnwarrd baþe upponn Þe manness Sune stiȝhenn. a 1225 Ancr. R. 72 Ase ȝe muwen iseon þe water, hwon me punt hit,..þeonne is hit ined aȝein uor to climben upward. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6564 Þe water uaste wax vpward hei & wide. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 5272 Þe fendys þat were yn þe pytte Smote vpwarde. c 1374 Chaucer H. Fame ii. 236 Fire or sovne Or smoke..Alwey..seke vpwarde on hight. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) v. i. 69 Now..fle we vpward, as fast as we may! 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 33, I will helpe that the ladder be sette vp, that he may goo vpwart theron. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems x. 42 Now spring vp flouris fra the rute, Reuert ȝow vpward naturaly. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iii. v, He voided a bushell of soot yesterday, upward and downeward. 1620 Venner Via Recta i. 21 Because it fumeth vpward, it causeth drowsinesse. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 499 Watchful Herons,..mounting upward with erected Flight,..soar above the Sight. 1706 Prior Ode to Queen v, Upward the Noble Bird directs his Wing. 1771 J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (ed. 4) 172 Mr. Morand..dilated the Part upward and downward. 1823 Byron Island iii. i, Sulphury vapours upward driven Had left the earth. 1876 Tennyson Harold i. i, Like a spirit in Hell who..cannot scape the flame..Steam'd upward from the undescendible Abysm. |
| fig. and transf. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2957 As sone as eldol him ysey is herte vpward drou. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxviii, Thus to..fling those curses upward that must soon descend to crush thy own grey head..! 1850–1 Longfellow Golden Leg. iv. Cloisters 15 Upward steals the life of man, As the sunshine from the wall. |
| β c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 105 Ech god ȝiue..cumeð of heuene dunward, and ech idel, and unnit and iuel, neðen uppard. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1964 (Bodl. MS. 17), Hwenne þe twa walden keasten uppart þing þet ha chahten. 13.. R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 321 So þat þe water vaste waxe vppard hey & wyde. ? 13.. Geburt Jesu 181 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1875) 75 Heo ne bi heold after fader ne moder, þo heo vppard steiȝ. |
b. In reference to aspect, attitude, or direction.
| a 1000 Boeth. Metr. xxxi. 23 Nis þæt ᵹedafenlic þæt se modsefa monna æniᵹes niðerheald wese, & þæt neb upweard. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 59 Þene Mon he lufede and welbiþohte, and for-þi his neb upward he wrohte. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2372 Heo biheold upward, wið upaheuen heorte. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6664 He loked vpwarde with hys yne. 1362 Langl. Piers Pl. A. v. 262 A þousent of Men..Criȝinge vpward to Crist..To haue grace [etc.]. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 64 Upon his brest..he leith His hond, and cast upward his yhe. 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop v. x, He loked and byheld vpward to the heuen. 1565 Cooper s.v. Resupinus, He standeth vpright with his clawes or nayles vpwarde to heauen. a 1586 Sidney tr. De Mornay i, If yee looke upward, yee see there infinite bodies. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iv. i. 181 To gape or looke upward with the eye. 1697 Dryden æneis v. 687 Acestes,..shooting upward, sends his shaft. 1703 Pope Thebais 644 His sad companions upward gaze. 1789 Wordsw. Evening Walk 25 Impatience, pointing upward, showed, Through passes yet unreached, a brighter road. 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms ii. 79 Upward when he turns his sight. 1818 Shelley Rosal. & Helen 1155 His countenance Raised upward, burned with radiance. 1850 Househ. Words I. 229/1, I saw him looking upward. |
| fig. a 1670 Hacket Abp. Williams ii. (1693) 194 They..look't downward upon those dishonourable Actions, not upward upon his Vertues. 1836 W. Irving Astoria I. 29 To these were added an aspiring spirit that always looked upward; a genius [etc.]. |
c. fig. To or towards a loftier stage, level, or standard, in respect of thought, feeling, life, distinction, excellence, etc.
| c 1200 Ormin 6014 God mann riseþþ aȝȝ uppwarrd In alle gode dedess. a 1225 Ancr. R. 132 [They] þencheð uppard, of þe blisse of heouene. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. x. 337 The chirche grewe vpward bothe in kunnyng and in lyuyng. c 1510 More Picus Wks. 2/2 Whose mind should alway as the fyre aspire vpward to heauenlye thinges. a 1535 ― Rich. III, Ibid. 68/1 Sir James Tyrell..had an high heart and sore longed vpwarde. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iv. ii. 24 Rosse. Things at the worst will cease, or else climbe vpward, To what they were before. 1692 Dryden Eleonora 152 Now 'tis Faith ascends, Now Hope, now Charity, that upward tends. 1732 Pope Ess. Man i. 173 What would this Man? Now upward will he soar, And little less than Angel, would be more. 1849 Thirlwall Rem. (1878) III. 352 Upward hearts—upward, above all paltry, sordid, grovelling aims and desires. 1898 Illingworth Divine Immanence i. 9 Every form of conscious life, from the lowest sensitive organism upward. |
d. Higher in respect of price or value, etc.
| 1874 Times 12 Jan. 6/5 The trade was very firm, with a strong inclination upward in price. Ibid., There appears to be a strong tendency upward [in the price of corn]. |
e. Sociol. upward mobility, movement from a lower to a higher social level. Hence
upward-mobile adj. phr., possessing upward mobility.
| 1949 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. LIV. 519/2 These children were learning attitudes and habits leading to upward social mobility. 1964 Gould & Kolb Dict. Soc. Sci. 434/2 A change in social class position..is called vertical mobility, with the sub-classes of upward mobility and downward mobility. Ibid. 604/2 A hungry rat may be rewarded by food, an upward-mobile person by a symbol of prestige. 1969 J. & S. Baratz in T. Kochman Rappin' & Stylin' Out (1973) 14 The price of integration for the upward-mobile black man has been continuous tension and anxiety. 1978 J. Updike Coup (1979) vii. 259 Her hard-packed determination to achieve, with her husband Bud, upward mobility. |
2. a. Up along the course of a stream, etc.; further into the interior of a country; to or towards a centre, metropolis, source, etc. Also in
fig. context.
| a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1013, Sweᵹen cyning mid his flotan..wende..to Humbran muðan, & swa upp weard andlang Trentan. c 1205 Lay. 9298 Hamun arnde upward & oðer while adunward. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 73 Þanne vpward aboue þat is þe ilond Farne. c 1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. 3 In þis same Numedie stant..Tagatenses..sumwhat upward mor on-to Cartage. 1505 in Leadam Star Chamber Cases (Selden) 223 Euery Trow or Cobull passing vpward vndre the seide Brugge. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 765 The yong kyng..he conueyed vpwarde towarde the Citie of London. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 408 An ancient Legend I prepare to sing, And upward follow Fame's immortal Spring. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 127 Be Homer's works your study,..And trace the Muses upward to their spring. |
b. Towards the body or head. (
Cf. 3 b, 5.)
| 1600 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iii. 19 (Q. 1), I felt to them [sc. his feet],..And to his knees,..and so vpward, and vpward. 1647 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. xlvii. 123 The vast body of the Roman Empire like a body wasting with age, died upward. |
3. a. In, occupying, or so as to occupy a higher or the highest position or place.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23316 Þai sal be sett in þair prisun, Vpward þair fete, þair hefdes dun. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Peter) 688 It is myn will one þe croice to be festnyt swa, myn fet vp-wart. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 787 Vpwarde The bottom, do this vessel closid so. c 1450 Two Cookery-bks. 101 Ley the pike in a charger, the wombe side vpward. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §16 The plough..tourneth the roote vpwarde, that it maye not growe. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 40 They make of hym an Image paynted reuersed with his heles vpwarde. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. v. iii. 93 Messa[la]. Titinius face is vpward. Cato. He is slaine. 1613, 1641 [see invert v. 1]. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 649 Coming towards them..they saw The bottom of the Mountains upward turn'd. 1755 Johnson, Supination, the act of lying with the face upward. 1809 in Naval Chron. XXI. 369 Puncheons..were placed end-upward. 1849 Ainsworth Lanc. Witches ii. iii, [He has nailed] a horse-shoe..to t'threshold.., heel uppard. |
b. In respect of the upper part or parts,
esp. of the body.
| c 1400 Mandeville (1919) xxx. 178 Sum men seyn þat þei [sc. griffins] han the body vpward as an Egle, and benethe as a Lyoun. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 1704 Tak exaumple off thy staff Wych Grace Dieu vn-to the gaff: Thogh the poynt be sharp & kene, Yt ys vpward pleyn, smothe & clene. 1575 Laneham Let. (1907) 54 Fyrst, oour too feet, too legs, too kneez, so vpward: and abooue, too shoolderz [etc.]. 1607 Puritan i. iv. 75 Hee lookes like a Monkey vpward, and a Crane downe-ward. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 463 Dagon his Name, Sea Monster, upward Man And downward Fish. |
† 4. Upright; erectly.
Obs. rare.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 82/11 A wei þer was of scharpe stones: and opward stoden echon. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7186 He sat him vpward vp is bed. |
5. With (vertical) extension
from a point or part (
esp. of the body) to another expressed or implied.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 209 A child..þat hadde tweie bodyes from þe navel upward. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) ii. 5 Þai made þat peece þat went fra [ed. 1839 from] þe erthe vpward..of cypresse. Ibid. vii. 24 It had..fra þeine vpward þe schappe of a gayte. c 1440 Wycliffite Bible 1 Sam. ix. 2 (MS. Bodl. 277), Fro þe schuldre and upward he appeeride ouer þe peple. c 1450 Mirk's Festial i. 97 Fendes token vp þe body, and beten hyt wyth brennyng scorgys from þe nauell vpward. c 1511 1st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) p. xxxiii/2 The whyche ben fro the myddel vpward lyke men. 1539 Bible Ezek. i. 27 As it had bene all of fyre within from hys loynes vpward. 1592 Soliman & Pers. iv. ii. 41 His skin is but pistol profe from the girdle vpward. 1600 Shakes. Much Ado iii. ii. 36 (Q. 1), A Spaniard from the hip vpward. 1642 Howell For. Trav. (Arb.) 57 It is well known the Habassines are Jacobites and Christians from the girdle upward. |
6. Comb., as (sense 1)
upward-climbing,
upward-curving,
upward-gazing,
upward-rushing,
upward-shooting,
upward-stirring,
upward-striving;
upward-parted,
upward pointed; (sense 2)
upward-bound.
| 1710 Lond. Gaz. No. 4681/3 The *upward-bound Ships for the Eastward. 1800 Hull Advertiser 18 Oct. 3/2 The upward-bound..are at anchor. |
| 1920 Kipling in Kipling & Graves tr. Horace's Odes v. 17 For fierce she-Britons, apt to smite Their *upward-climbing sisters down. 1963 Times Lit. Suppl. 8 Mar. 168/3 Upward-climbing iambics. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 24 He walked along the *upwardcurving path. |
| 1871 Palgrave Lyr. Poems 64 As some still *upward-gazing lake. |
| 1865 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1967) 151 A brush of trees Rounded it, thinning skywards by degrees, With parallel shafts,—as *upward-parted ashes. |
| 1821 Atherstone Poems 6 With *upward pointed hands, these pray'd aloud. |
| 1871 Tennyson Last Tourn. 440 An ever *upward-rushing storm and cloud Of shriek and plume. |
| 1857 Dufferin Lett. High Lat. (ed. 3) 328 The *upward shooting fluff of seas. |
| 1844 Emerson Ess. ii. viii, In countless *upward-striving waves The moon-drawn tide-wave strives. |
II. 7. Backward in order of time; continuously into the past.
| c 1055 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 327 Swa fela daga tell þu fram martius monðes ende upweard. c 1175 Twelfth Cent. Hom. 34 Lucas tealde þanon..upweard to Adame seofen & hund-seofentiȝ mæȝða. c 1200 Ormin 2056 Cristess kinn Onn eorþe, o moderr hallfe, Bi weppmann shollde reccnedd ben Uppwarrd & dunnwarrd baþe. 1611 Bible Haggai ii. 18 Consider now from this day, and vpward,..euen from the day that the foundation of the Lords Temple was laid, consider it. Ibid. 15. |
8. a. To or into later life.
Cf. up adv.1 22 c.
| c 1530 Tindale Num. viii. 24 From .xxv. yere vppwarde they shall goo in to wayte [etc.]. 1531 Elyot Gov. i. xvi, Children..from the age of xiiii. yeres upwarde. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 136 ¶2, I am, and ever have been from my Youth upward, one of the greatest Liars. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 54 He was a soldier from his youth upward. 1890 J. Pulsford Loyalty to Christ I. 123 From childhood and upward, our ears have been..thronged with the jargon of idolaters. |
b. and (also or) upward = upwards adv. 6 b.
| (a) 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 369 Children of th[e] age of .xii. or .xiii. yeares or vppewarde. 1595 Platt Discov. Eng. Wants A 3, Seacoale..at the rate of 8s the chawdren or vpwarde. 1596 Harington Anat. Metam. Ajax L iij b, A Cesterne containing a barrell [of water] or vpward. 1708 Lond. Gaz. No. 4479/8 A black Cart Gelding, about 15 hands high, or upward. |
| (b) 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 422 He was xxxii. yeares olde and vpwarde. 1608 Relat. Trav. W. Bush E j b, To the number of two thousand people and vp-ward. 1796 H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 162 A series of a hundred and fifty leagues in length, and upward. |
c. To a higher number or amount.
rare—1.
| 1575 Laneham Let. (1907) 54 So az all..numbrings from too vntoo three, and so vpward, may well be counted numberz. |
9. upward of = upwards adv. 8.
| 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, ii. iv. 36, I haue beene your Wife, in this Obedience, Vpward of twenty yeares. a 1628 F. Grevil Sidney (1652) 199 The builders of any ships upward of so many hundred Tuns. 1864 Intellectual Observer VI. 282 A good swarm..containing at the lowest estimate upward of 40,000. |
10. upward compatibility, the property of computer software and hardware by virtue of which software written for a less capable machine can be used on a more capable one; so
upward-compatible adj. phr., exhibiting upward compatibility.
| 1964 Computer Bull. June 44/2 The ibm system/360 is available in six models... IBM is developing an additional, very high performance system to be upward-compatible with these models. 1965 Ibid. June 20/1 In addition to upward compatibility the Compatibles/100 offer users the protection of a more complete range of software. 1976 Aviation Week 6 Sept. 155/1 All software in the series is upward-compatible. 1979 Business Week (Industr. Ed.) 27 Aug. 83 The new system is aimed at providing the current users of GSD's systems with a more powerful, upward-compatible system. 1982 Computerworld 15 Mar. 4/1 The system is upward-compatible with both the Harris 1600 and Harris 9200 series processors. 1983 Australian Personal Computer Oct. 49/2 There are..rumours that IBM will soon release an in-house developed DOS..which will be more upward compatible to IBM disk operating systems. 1983 Pop. Computing Nov. 15 Instruction sets for the micro⁓processors are ‘upward compatible’, that is, a program written for the original Z80 will also work on the faster Z80A, Z80B, or Z80H, but the reverse is not necessarily true. 1984 Computerworld 16 Apr. 47 Version 4.0 provides full upward compatibility for Template Version 3.0 applications programs. |
† B. prep. Up; along the line of ascent of.
rare.
| c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) v. 388, I se hym now com vpward the hill. 1818 Keats Endym. i. 266 Whether to surprise The squatted hare..; Or upward ragged precipices flit To save poor lambkins. |
C. adj. (
Cf. OE. upweard adj.)
† 1. Facing upwards; lying on the back; supine;
= upright a. 2.
Obs. A few examples occur in
OE.| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 465 A certaine herbe..which..maketh him to fall presently vpon his backe & lye vpward without stirring. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 268 The position or manner of lying of the sickeman, eyther prone that is downeward, or supine that is vpward. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 194 Women drowned float prone,..but men supine or upward, is an assertion wherein the..point it selfe is dubious. |
2. a. Directed towards a higher or loftier point, place, or plane; having a vertical or ascensional course or direction; taking place or inclined upwards; ascending.
| 1607 Shakes. Timon iv. iii. 190 Common Mother [= the earth],..Teeme with new Monsters, whom thy vpward face Hath to the Marbled Mansion all aboue Neuer presented. 1634 Milton Comus 98 The slope Sun his upward beam Shoots against the dusky Pole. 1700 Dryden Theodore & Hon. 315 So spread upon a Lake, with upward Eye, A plump of Fowl behold their Foe on high. 1704 Prior Let. to Boileau 174 The Eagle..directs her upward Flight. 1718 ― Solomon iii. 875 The Angel said; With upward Speed His agile Wings He spread. 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 383 The exalted prize demands an upward look. 1839 Bailey Festus 334 The last high upward slant of sun on the trees. a 1842 Wordsw. Misc. Sonn. iii. xxxi, She stands.., One upward hand..lying softly on her breast. 1890 J. Pulsford Loyalty to Christ I. 104 The upward slopes of the new life are delightful, and the prospects enrapturing. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 81 The movement and discomfort in the hands may be relieved..by very gentle upward rubbing. |
| transf. 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVI. 419/1 The speech-note on the word ‘pale’ will consist of an upward movement of the voice. |
| spec. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2684/1 Upward filter, a filter in which the flow of the liquid is upward. |
b. Having a trend, course, drift, etc., which indicates advance, progress, or increase.
| 1596 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. iii. 1 Thus farre our fortune keepes an vpward course. 1852 Lawson's Merchant's Mag. July 236 A change..in the weather..has checked the upward tendency in quotations [of grain]. 1870 Pall Mall G. 23 Sept. 9/2 Where there is any change [in the Stock Markets] it is in the upward direction. 1914 Eng. Hist. Rev. Jan. 135 The upward movement which raised the lower labouring classes. |
c. Having lofty aims or purpose.
| 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xli. vi, Tho' following with an upward mind The wonders that have come to thee. |
3. Situated or lying aloft or above; higher in place or position; lofty.
| 1622 Boys Wks. 957 Troubles in this world (quoth Austin) are an vpward hell. 1815 Shelley Alastor 278 A swan..with strong wings Scaling the upward sky. 1819 W. Tennant Papistry Storm'd (1827) 79 Barns spy'd, frae his upwart place,..George's face. |
4. † a. (See
quot.)
Obs.| 1729 Boyer Dict. Royal ii. s.v., Upward Goods, or Merchandize, (so inland Traders call Goods designed for London). |
b. Directed, moving, etc., up along a stream or river; taking place up-stream.
| 1731 in Extr. Navig. Rolls Thames (1772) 22 The Master or chief Boatman of any upward Boat or Barge. 1816 Tuckey Narr. Exped. R. Zaire iv. (1818) 134 Running directly on the rocks, and forming a strong upward eddy on its west side. Ibid. 144 Our upward view of the river. 1818 M. Birkbeck Notes Journ. Amer. (ed. 4) 80 The upward navigation of these streams. 1887 Field 31 Dec. 985/3 In regard to other migratory fish..the same weirs have the effect..of..arresting their upward migration. |
† 5. Going backward in time.
Obs.—1| 1603 B. Jonson Panegyre 90 She then remembred to his thought..the vpward race Of kings, præceding him in that high court. |
D. n. † 1. The top part; the crown or summit.
| 1605 Shakes. Lear v. iii. 136 From th' extremest vpward of thy head, To the discent and dust below thy foote. |
2. Upward movement. Also
fig.| 1898 Meredith Odes Fr. Hist. 30 Not singing the spirally upward of rapture, the downward of pain Rather, the drop sheer downward from pressure of merciless weight. |