What does eastwardly mean?
"Eastwardly" is a directional term meaning toward the east, usable both as an adjective and as an adverb. As an adjective it typically describes position or orientation — an eastwardly slope, an eastwardly-facing window, a town on an eastwardly course — while adverbially it describes movement in that direction, as when weather systems travel eastwardly across a continent. The word is built from the Old English root "east" combined with the suffixes "-ward" (indicating direction) and "-ly", making it a fuller variant of the more common "eastward" and "easterly". Although perfectly well established, it is comparatively rare today and carries a slightly formal, literary flavor; most contemporary writers reach for "eastward" instead. It remains useful where precision matters, particularly in nautical, meteorological, and geographical writing, and its antonyms include "westwardly", "westward", and "westerly".
Situated, directed, or facing toward the east.
"The harbour offers good shelter from eastwardly winds."
In a direction toward the east.
"The expedition pressed steadily eastwardly for three weeks."
While "eastward" does all the heavy lifting in modern English, its longer cousin "eastwardly" survives as one of those quiet -ly adjectives that let you say a ship lies at an eastwardly anchorage — not just sailing that way.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of eastwardly
"Eastwardly" derives from Old English "ēast" (east), combined with the directional suffix "-ward" and the adjectival/adverbial suffix "-ly". The compound "eastward" existed in Old English as "ēastweard", and the extended form "eastwardly" emerged later in the history of English, following the productive pattern of other "-wardly" formations such as "inwardly" and "outwardly". Its closest relatives are the other compass-direction derivatives of the same Germanic root, including "eastward", "easterly", "eastern", and "eastmost".
How eastwardly is actually used
Somewhat formal and now rather rare; "eastward" or "easterly" is preferred in most modern contexts. As an adjective it often describes orientation or position rather than motion.
Easily confused with eastwardly
"Eastward" is the standard and far more common term for movement toward the east, while "eastwardly" is a rarer variant that can also describe something situated or facing east.