🇩🇪German Source WordCode: DE

Rückwärts

Pronunciation / Transliteration: ˈʁʏkˌvɛʁts

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Backward/ˈbæk.wɚd/
adjectiveadverbCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #1500 frequency
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🇩🇪 Example Sentence in German:

"Das Auto rollte rückwärts den Hügel hinunter."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As adjective
  1. 1

    Directed or moving toward the back; in the opposite direction to that which is forward.

    "The car rolled backward down the hill."
As adverb
  1. 1

    In the direction of the back; toward the rear.

    "She took a step backward to avoid the puddle."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The word 'backward' originates from the Old English 'bæcweard', which combines 'bæc' meaning 'back' and 'weard' meaning 'ward' or 'direction'. It has evolved through Middle English as 'bakward', reflecting a directional sense of moving to the back or in reverse.

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