west

west
west O.E. west "in or toward the west," from P.Gmc. *wes-t- (Cf. O.N. vestr, O.Fris., M.Du., Du. west, O.H.G. -west, only in compounds, Ger. west), from PIE *wes- (source of Gk. hesperos, L. vesper "evening, west"), perhaps an enlarged form of root *we- "to go down" (Cf. Skt. avah "downward"), and thus lit. "direction in which the sun sets." Cf. also High German dialectal abend "west," lit. "evening." Fr. ouest, Sp. oeste are from English. West used in geopolitical sense from World War I (Britain, France, Italy, as opposed to Germany and Austria-Hungary); as contrast to Communist Russia (later to the Soviet bloc) it is first recorded in 1918. West Indies is recorded from 1550s. The verb wester "to go west" is recorded from late 14c.; westerly first recorded 1570s in both its (somewhat contradictory) senses of "coming from the west" and "facing toward the west."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?
Synonyms:
, , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • West — (en inglés Oeste) hace referencia a varios artículos en la wikipedia: Contenido 1 Lugares 1.1 Europa 1.2 Norteamérica 2 Música …   Wikipedia Español

  • west — /west/, n. 1. a cardinal point of the compass, 90° to the left when facing north, corresponding to the point where the sun is seen to set. Abbr.: W 2. the direction in which this point lies. 3. (usually cap.) a region or territory situated in… …   Universalium

  • West — /west/, n. 1. Benjamin, 1738 1820, U.S. painter, in England after 1763. 2. Mae, 1892? 1980, U.S. actress. 3. Nathanael (Nathan Wallenstein Weinstein), 1902? 40, U.S. novelist. 4. Paul, born 1930, U.S. poet, essayist, and novelist, born in England …   Universalium

  • West — West, Morris * * * (as used in expressions) West Point Bandaranaike, S(olomon) W(est) R(idgeway) D(ias) De La Warr, Thomas West, 12° barón Key West North West Co. Sackville West, Vita Victoria Mary Sackville West SWAPO sigla de South West Africa… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • west*/*/*/ — [west] noun I 1) [U] the direction that is behind you when you are facing the rising sun We ve driven from east to west.[/ex] See: east 2) the west [singular] the part of a place that is in the west The country s major cities are all in the… …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • West — West, n. [AS. west, adv.; akin to D. west, G. west, westen, OHG. westan, Icel. vestr, Sw. vest, vester, vestan, Dan. vest, vesten, and perhaps to L. vesper evening, Gr. ?. ????. Cf. {Vesper}, {Visigoth}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The point in the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • West — West, a. 1. Lying toward the west; situated at the west, or in a western direction from the point of observation or reckoning; proceeding toward the west, or coming from the west; as, a west course is one toward the west; an east and west line; a …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • west — [west] n. [ME < OE, akin to Ger < IE * we (< base * au , down, away from) > Gr hesperos, L vesper, evening] 1. the direction to the left of a person facing north; direction in which sunset occurs: it is properly the point on the… …   English World dictionary

  • west — ► NOUN (usu. the west) 1) the direction towards the point of the horizon where the sun sets at the equinoxes, on the left hand side of a person facing north. 2) the western part of a country, region, or town. 3) (the West) Europe and North… …   English terms dictionary

  • WEST (B.) — WEST BENJAMIN (1738 1820) Peintre américain. Bien que West soit né en Amérique et qu’il y ait appris la «partie mécanique» (selon ses propres termes) de la peinture, son œuvre est entièrement étrangère au développement de l’art américain. Au… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”