Toward death; in the direction of or moving toward one's end or demise.
From 'death' plus '-ward' (Old English weard, meaning 'toward' or 'in the direction of'). Poetic formation parallel to 'heavenward' or 'homeward' to indicate direction toward death.
This word appears in dark Romantic poetry—the idea of moving 'deathward' captured that gothic obsession with fate and inevitable endings that defined works like Poe's.
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