'eastwards' originates from Old English, specifically from the element 'east' and the Old English suffix 'weard' (later '-ward'/'-wards'), where 'east' meant 'east' and 'weard' meant 'turned toward' or 'direction'.

'eastwards' changed from Old English 'eastweard' or 'eastweardas' and through Middle English forms like 'estward'/'estwardes' eventually became the modern English 'eastward' and the adverbial variant 'eastwards'.

Initially it meant 'toward the east' (a literal directional sense), and this basic meaning has largely remained the same into modern usage.