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.

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  • 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, v. i. [1913 Webster] 1. To pass to the west; to set, as the sun. [Obs.] The hot sun gan to west. Chaucer. [1913 Webster] 2. To turn or move toward the west; to veer from the north or south toward the west. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • West — West, adv. [AS. west.] Westward. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • West — This article refers to the cardinal direction; for other uses see West (disambiguation).West is most commonly a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the …   Wikipedia

  • west — I. adverb Etymology: Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German westar to the west and probably to Latin vesper evening, Greek hesperos Date: before 12th century to, toward, or in the west II. adjective Date: before 12th century 1 …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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