upwardsadv.prep.
/ˈʌpwədz/ A. adv.
I. To or towards a position that is physically higher, and related uses.figurative.a1807 W. Wordsworth Prelude (1959) x. 410 This..Sour'd and corrupted upwards to the source My sentiments.
1. figurative.1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham II. xvi. 154 Men..who join ignorance of every principle of legislation to indifference for every benefit to the people..who level upwards, and trample downwards.1905 Forsyth in Contemp. Rev. Oct. 581 The Christ needs the apostle, the preacher. The Mediator upwards needs mediators downwards.in extended use.1907 J. H. Patterson Man-eaters of Tsavo viii. 87 Lions always begin at the tail of their prey and eat upwards towards the head.in combination.1844 H. M. Noad Lect. Electr. (ed. 2) 272 The upwards bent platinum wire.attributive.1849 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1863) 4th Ser. 160 Not mere change, but true, ever upwards progress.
a. = upward adv. 1a. †to make upwards (quots. 15751, 15752): see make v.1 65.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > [adverb]
upc888
upwardsc888
upwardOE
upc1384
roofward1844
roofwards1845
whereup1880
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxiv. §10 Þæt he onginð of þæm wyrtrumum & swa upweardes grewð oð ðone stemn.
c1000 Boeth. Metr. xiii. 62 Sio sunne..stihð a upweardes, oð hio eft cymeð þær hire yfemesð bið eard gecynde.
a1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Digby) xiii Þe tayle..streight and a litell crompynge vpward [MS. Reg. vpwardes].
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 158 To make a high fleeing Hawke vpwards.
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 158 It hapneth oftentimes that a Hawke..will yet be long before she be made vpwards.
1578 J. Banister Hist. Man v. f. 76 The vretarie vessels..also prohibite that vpwardes none [sc. urine] may returne agayne.
1613 Bible: Gen. vii. 20 Fifteene cubits vpwards [1611 vpward], did the waters preuaile.
1647 A. Cowley My Fate in Mistress i Go bid the Stones a journey upwards make.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 62. ¶5 His ambitious Love is a Fire that naturally mounts upwards.
1786 J. Pinkerton Anc. Sc. Poems I. p. lxvii Their shoulders are moved upwards and downwards.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 189 A dry glass rod or tube, rubbed..upwards and downwards with a dry hand.
1827 M. Faraday Chem. Manip. iv. 89 Another..mode..is to continue the furnace upwards by a deep ring.
1858 G. Glenny Gardener's Every-day Bk. (new ed.) 230/2 These..trailing plants..are more frequently trained upwards.
b. = upward adv. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [adverb] > in upward direction
upc888
upwardsc890
upwardOE
anovewardOE
countermount1513
upwith1513
supernally1596
headward1786
upwardly1816
upways1890
up-along1963
c890 Wærferth tr. Gregory's Dial. 286 Þa færinga locode heo uppweardes,..& geseah þone hælend þider cuman to hire.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 38 Nim mid þinum twam handum uppeweardes.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 59 Neb upwardes he him [sc. man] wrohte.
c1400 Pepysian Gosp. Harmony (1922) 70 Jesus..wiþstoode and bihelde hym vpwardes.
1648 H. Hexham Groot Woorden-boeck Opwaerts sien, to See upwards, or to Looke on high.
1709 T. Robinson Vindic. Mosaick Syst. 112 in Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland Man..hath his Head upwards towards Heaven.
1795–6 W. Wordsworth Borderers ii. 988 Upwards I cast my eyes.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna v. xlix. 117 She paused, and pointed upwards.
1850 W. Wordsworth Prelude vii. 179 Behold, turned upwards, a face hard and strong In lineaments.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. ii. 21 Looking upwards we saw a series of coloured rings.
c. figurative. = upward adv. 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [adverb]
upwardc1175
upwards1557
1557 in E. Lodge Illustr. Brit. Hist. (1791) I. 274 Prisoners..of the degree of a Baron, or uppwardes.
1605 in Archaeologia (1800) 13 321 The lorde who beeinge an earle or upwardes,..is to have..a cloathe of estate.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. xxxiii. 339 The Army; wherein the Tendency is always upwards from lower Posts to higher.
1855 Poultry Chron. 2 423 The character of the..fowls proves that their progress is upwards in quality.
d. = upward adv. 1d.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [adverb] > increasing or increased in price
up1546
on the rise1805
upward1874
upwards1874
1874 Times 1 Jan. 7/6 Coffee.—A strong demand prevails, with few sellers, and the market still tends upwards.
1875 Economist 2 Jan. 5/2 Straits tin..after a moderate reaction upwards fell to 92l 5s in August.
2. = upward adv. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [adverb] > in inward direction or towards interior
upwarda1000
inwardc1000
upwards1513
inwards1598
withinward1611
inwardly1667
in-bye1768
inwith1768
the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [preposition] > towards source
upwards1513
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid viii. ii. 65 Bayth nycht and day ilk man..Can spend in routh..Our slidand fast vpwartis the river.
1538 in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 245 I am cumyng upwardes [= to London] as fast as my sekenes will suffre me.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. x. 19/2 First Daman from thence fifteene miles vpwardes..the towne of Basaiin.
1601 R. Hakluyt tr. A. Galvano Discov. World 90 From thence vpwards..he went along the coast of the Abassins.
1662 R. Venables Experienc'd Angler x. 99 In small Brooks you may angle upwards.
1801 Rusher's Reading Guide 7 The Mail Coaches to and from Bath, Bristol, &c. pass upwards and downwards every night.
1869 H. F. Tozer Res. Highlands of Turkey I. 184 We followed this stream upwards.
1893 Field 17 June 904/3 For years the labourers have been in the habit of going ‘upwards’—that is, up round London—for mowing and haymaking.
3.
a. = upward adv. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > [adverb] > higher
highereOE
upwarda1300
upperc1384
uppermorec1400
superiorly1556
upwards1577
superior1718
1577 Vicary's Profitable Treat. Anat. sig. I.i The brode ende..[of the heart] is vpwardes, and the sharpe ende is downewardes.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. ii. 63 She shall be buried with her face vpwards . View more context for this quotation
1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 928 The mouthes or passages of their cells are..altogether downward; and they very providently place the bottom of their cels upwards, that [etc.].
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Dyalling 18 Holding the Center A upwards, so as the Plumb-line play free in the Grove.
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Dyalling 31 If this Dyal were turned with its Center upwards.
1733 J. Tull Horse-hoing Husbandry xxi. 141 The Share, turn'd Bottom upwards.
1839 C. H. Timperley Dict. Printers 104 He..then puts a quantity of the worked off sheets on it, taking care to have the printed side upwards.
1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 226 For the Infinite is upwards, and above The highest thing created—upwards aye.
1875 T. Seaton Man. Fret Cutting 91 Take a set of gouges, stand the largest of the set edge upwards.
b. = upward adv. 3b. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > positions or directions in body > [adverb] > specific
upwardsc1400
posteriorly1598
centrad1803
dextrad1803
distad1803
peripherad1803
proximad1803
sinistrad1803
atlantad1825
rostrad1831
mesially1849
ventrad1849
peripherally1852
posterolaterally1857
rostrally1863
distally1870
medianly1870
ventrally1870
postaxially1873
preaxially1873
posteroventrally1877
proximally1878
mesad1881
lateralwards1882
ventralwards1883
preaxiad1888
mesally1890
anteriad1891
haemad1891
postaxiad1892
lateralward1895
sagittally1895
ventral1899
posteriad1902
ipsilaterally1950
midsagittally1960
ventromedially1960
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1919) xix. 110 Þerfore make þei the halfondel of ydole of a man vpwardes, & the toþer half of an ox dounwardes.
4. = upward adv. 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > positions or directions in body > [adverb] > vertically from one point or part to another
upwarda1387
upwards1588
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [adverb] > in upward direction > vertically > with vertical extension
upwarda1387
upwards1588
1588 T. Hickock tr. C. Federici Voy. & Trauaile f. 13 These men goe naked from the girdell vpwards.
1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 187 They..goe naked from the waste vpwards.
1855 D. T. Ansted in Orr's Circle Sci.: Inorg. Nature 106 One genus (Belemnites), very common..among all the secondary rocks, from the lias upwards.
5. upwards of, at or to a higher level than; above.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > high upon [preposition] > at a higher level than
upwards of1853
1853 G. Johnston Terra Lindisfarnensis I. 140 Upwards of this, the hill is well-covered with..turf and heather.
II. To or towards a higher position in a sequence or continuum.
6.
a. To a higher aggregate, figure, or the like.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > in or to a greater quantity, amount, or degree > to a higher quantity or amount
upwards1523
upward?1578
1523 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 221 The goods to paye js of the li. from xxli upwards.
1617 Eastland Co. (Camden) 21 Deales from Eighteene foote longe uppwards.
1617 Eastland Co. (Camden) 21 Greate masts from fifteene hand upwards the peece.
1910 Stage Year Bk. 47 First-class hotel accommodation..for two and a half or three guineas a week, upwards.
b. Usually and upwards, or upwards. Frequently = somewhat more or rather above a specified age, number, value, size, etc. = upward adv. 7b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > age > [adverb] > advancing in age
upwardc1530
up1535
and upwards1570
upwardsa1807
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > rather more than
and morec1230
and (also or) upward1555
and upwards1570
upward of1623
upwards of1721
rising1808
the rise of1834
(a)
(b)1593 Tell-Trothes New-yeares Gift A 3 Ioyning..their daughters of twentye yeares olde or vnder, to rich cormorants of threescore or vpwards.1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Ffff2v/1 It amounts to ten Pounds, or upwards.1709 London Gaz. No. 45021/2 A Ship of 70 Guns, or upwards.1857 W. A. Miller Elements Chem. III. 74 A solution of soda..which contains two per cent. or upwards of alkali.1861 Brit. Postal Guide 28 Messengers, whose weekly wages..are..8s. or upwards.1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) II. 2268/2 Hussy. How old art thou? Eliz. Forty and vpwardes.
1612 Sir D. Carleton in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 572 Diverse companies to the number of 700 men and upwards.
1693 R. Lyde True Acct. Retaking of Ship (title page) Their Majesties Customs of the said ship amounted to 1,000 l. and upwards.
1717 in Minutes of Evid. Nairne Peerage (1873) 31 in Sessional Papers House of Lords (H.L. A) XII. 65 Robert Robertson..aged ffifty years and upwards.
1729 T. Innes Crit. Ess. Anc. Inhabitants Scotl. II. 578 Within these last hundred years, and upwards.
1818 S. Weston La Scava 25 Eighty whetstones and upwards..have been found.
1839 C. H. Timperley Dict. Printers 105 All above 52 Pica ems, upon Small Pica and upwards.
1887 Daily Chron. 17 Jan. (Encycl. Dict.) Some of them worth as much as £30 and upwards.
c. To later life; = upward adv. 7a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > age > [adverb] > advancing in age
upwardc1530
up1535
and upwards1570
upwardsa1807
a1807 W. Wordsworth Prelude (1959) viii. 290 Even then And upwards through late youth, until not less Than three and twenty summers had been told.
1851 W. H. Dixon W. Penn viii. 252 The great idea which he had nursed from his youth upwards.
1874 F. W. Farrar Life Christ xv. 166 Might they not have understood that, from childhood upwards, He had not lived by bread alone?
7. Backwards in time; into the past.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > [adverb] > backwards in time or into the past
upwardc1055
backward1562
retro1634
upwards1689
back1711
recessively1880
1689 R. Milward Selden's Table-talk 32 Some of them are asham'd upwards, because their Ancestors were too great.
1729 T. Innes Crit. Ess. Anc. Inhabitants Scotl. I. 237 [He] pronounced this genealogy..from Fergus, son of Erch, to Fergus, son of Ferchar, and upwards.
1887 W. W. Skeat Princ. Eng. Etymol. I. 52 English should be traced downwards as well as upwards.
1890 Grindlestone Foundations of Bible 19 History of the art of writing, from the days of Nehemiah upwards [to the time of Moses].
8.
a. upwards of, (rather) more than; = upward adv. 8.In frequent use from c1760.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > rather more than
and morec1230
and (also or) upward1555
and upwards1570
upward of1623
upwards of1721
rising1808
the rise of1834
1721 J. Perry Acct. Stopping Daggenham Breach 17 A large Chest or Machine, upwards of eighty Foot long.
1753–4 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison III. xvi. 227 He..kept his word till he was upwards of seventy.
1841 G. Borrow Zincali II. iii. 109 Considerably upwards of a century.
1885 Law Rep.: Chancery Div. 29 538 The estate..was found liable for upwards of £5,000.
1893 J. Pulsford Loyalty to Christ II. 321 Upwards of three thousand years ago.
b. Used for: Somewhat less than (a specified amount); nearly, not quite. Chiefly dialect.
ΚΠ
1902 Yorks. Post 28 Feb. Thus ‘upwards of a hundred’ would mean nearly, or well on to a hundred.
1902– in colloquial use, Linc. to Devon ( Eng. Dial. Dict. ).
Up along the course of; = up prep.2 2. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1601 R. Hakluyt tr. A. Galvano Discov. World 72 He went into Arabia, Persia, and vpwards the riuer Euphrates.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1926; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.prep.c888