The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Forward \For"ward\, a.
   1. Near, or at the fore part; in advance of something else;
      as, the forward gun in a ship, or the forward ship in a
      fleet.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Ready; prompt; strongly inclined; in an ill sense,
      overready; too hasty.
      [1913 Webster]

            Only they would that we should remember the poor;
            the same which I also was forward to do. --Gal. ii.
                                                  10.
      [1913 Webster]

            Nor do we find him forward to be sounded. --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Ardent; eager; earnest; in an ill sense, less reserved or
      modest than is proper; bold; confident; as, the boy is too
      forward for his years.
      [1913 Webster]

            I have known men disagreeably forward from their
            shyness.                              --T. Arnold.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Advanced beyond the usual degree; advanced for the season;
      as, the grass is forward, or forward for the season; we
      have a forward spring.
      [1913 Webster]

            The most forward bud
            Is eaten by the canker ere it blow.   --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Forward \For"ward\, n. [OE., fr. AS. foreweard; fore before +
   weard a ward. See Ward, n.]
   An agreement; a covenant; a promise. [Obs.]
   [1913 Webster]

         Tell us a tale anon, as forward is.      --Chaucer.
   Forward

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Forward \For"ward\, Forwards \For"wards\, adv. [AS. forweard,
   foreweard; for, fore + -weardes; akin to G. vorw[aum]rts. The
   s is properly a genitive ending. See For, Fore, and
   -ward, -wards.]
   Toward a part or place before or in front; onward; in
   advance; progressively; -- opposed to backward.
   [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Forward \For"ward\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Forwarded; p. pr. &
   vb. n. Forwarding.]
   1. To help onward; to advance; to promote; to accelerate; to
      quicken; to hasten; as, to forward the growth of a plant;
      to forward one in improvement.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. To send forward; to send toward the place of destination;
      to transmit; as, to forward a letter.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

forward
    adv 1: at or to or toward the front; "he faced forward"; "step
           forward"; "she practiced sewing backward as well as
           frontward on her new sewing machine"; (`forrad' and
           `forrard' are dialectal variations) [syn: forward,
           forwards, frontward, frontwards, forrad,
           forrard] [ant: back, backward, backwards,
           rearward, rearwards]
    2: forward in time or order or degree; "from that time forth";
       "from the sixth century onward" [syn: forth, forward,
       onward]
    3: toward the future; forward in time; "I like to look ahead in
       imagination to what the future may bring"; "I look forward to
       seeing you" [syn: ahead, forward] [ant: back,
       backward]
    4: in a forward direction; "go ahead"; "the train moved ahead
       slowly"; "the boat lurched ahead"; "moved onward into the
       forest"; "they went slowly forward in the mud" [syn: ahead,
       onward, onwards, forward, forwards, forrader]
    5: near or toward the bow of a ship or cockpit of a plane; "the
       captain went fore (or forward) to check the instruments"
       [syn: fore, forward] [ant: abaft, aft, astern]
    adj 1: at or near or directed toward the front; "the forward
           section of the aircraft"; "a forward plunge down the
           stairs"; "forward motion" [ant: backward]
    2: used of temperament or behavior; lacking restraint or
       modesty; "a forward child badly in need of discipline" [ant:
       backward]
    3: of the transmission gear causing forward movement in a motor
       vehicle; "in a forward gear" [ant: reverse]
    4: moving forward [syn: advancing, forward, forward-
       moving]
    n 1: the person who plays the position of forward in certain
         games, such as basketball, soccer, or hockey
    2: a position on a basketball, soccer, or hockey team
    v 1: send or ship onward from an intermediate post or station in
         transit; "forward my mail" [syn: forward, send on]

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (19 January 2023):

forward

    (verb) To send (a copy of) an electronic mail
   message that you have received on to one or more other
   addressees.  Most e-mail systems can be configured to do
   this automatically to all or certain messages, e.g. Unix
   sendmail looks for a ".forward" file in the recipient's
   home directory.

   A mailing list server (or "mail exploder") is designed to
   forward messages automatically to lists of people.

   Unix manual page: aliases(5).

   (2000-03-22)