west

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See also: West

English

West.
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

PIE word
*wek(ʷ)speros

From Middle English west, from Old English west, from Proto-West Germanic *westr, from Proto-Germanic *westrą.

Cognate with Scots wast, Saterland Frisian Wääste, West Frisian west, Dutch west, German West, Danish vest. Cognate also with Old French west, French ouest, Spanish oeste, Portuguese oeste, Catalan oest, Galician oeste, Italian ovest (all ultimately borrowings of the English word). Compare also Latin vesper (“evening”), with which it is possibly cognate via Proto-Indo-European.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: wĕst, IPA(key): /wɛst/
  • Audio (UK)(file)
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛst

Noun

west (plural wests)

  2. The direction opposite to that of the earth's rotation, specifically 270°.
    Alternative form: (abbreviation) W
    We used to live in the west of the country.
    Portugal lies to the west of Spain.
  3. The western region or area; the inhabitants thereof.
  4. (ecclesiastical) In a church: the direction of the gallery, opposite to the altar, and opposite to the direction faced by the priest when celebrating ad orientem.
    • 1997, John Haskell, John Callanan, Sydney Architecture, UNSW Press, →ISBN:
      In two respects, however, the cathedral [of St. Mary's in Sydney, Australia] differs from English traditions: it is oriented north-south, not east-west; and its main entry is from the south (liturgical west) between the two towers, in the French manner.
    • 2000, Mark L. MacDonald, The Chant of Life: Liturgical Studies Four, Church Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, page 98:
      The seating for honored persons (clergy) is at the liturgical west, opposite the entrance and lectern.
    • 2007, Patrick Malloy, Celebrating the Eucharist: A Practical Ceremonial Guide for Clergy and Other Liturgical Ministers, Church Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, page 155:
      In most worship spaces, this will put the thurifer and gospeller facing liturgical west, book bearer facing liturgical east (or the book on the reading desk), and the torch bearers turned inward, facing the book.
    • 2014, Paul Porwoll, Against All Odds: History of Saint Andrew's Parish Church, Charleston, 1706-2013, WestBow Press, →ISBN, page 365:
      Throughout the book I refer directionally to the altar and chancel of St. Andrew's as situated at ecclesiastical east (to avoid overcomplicating matters), not geographical or magnetic southeast. Thus, the altar is located at the east end of the church, and the gallery, at the west.

Coordinate terms

(compass points)

northwest north northeast
west east
southwest south southeast


Derived terms

Translations

Also see Appendix:Cardinal directions for translations of all compass points

Adjective

west

  1. Situated or lying in or toward the west; westward.
  2. (meteorology) Of wind: from the west.
  3. Of or pertaining to the west; western.
  4. From the West; occidental.
  5. (ecclesiastial) Designating, or situated in, the liturgical west, that part of a church which is opposite to, and farthest from, the part containing the chancel.
    • 2008, Philip Temple, Northern Clerkenwell and Pentonville, Paul Mellon Ctr for Studies, →ISBN, page 356:
      Interior in 1925, (left) looking north to chancel and (right) looking south (to liturgical west end) It was on account of this connection that St James's became the clowns 'church', an annual clowns' service being held there ...
    • 2017, Stephen Kite, Building Ruskin's Italy: Watching Architecture, Routledge, →ISBN, page 48:
      as in the mosaic of the ascension on San Frediano's liturgical west (geographically east) façade.
    • 2019, Sarah Hosking, "Coventry Cathedral", in Prickett Stephen Prickett, Edinburgh Companion to the Bible and the Arts, Edinburgh University Press, →ISBN, page 371:
      Spence had decided on a huge image of Christ on the [liturgical] east end [which is the geographic north], filling the entire wall and to be visible through the [liturgical] West Window (Fig. 24.2).

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Adverb

west (not comparable)

  1. Towards the west; westwards.

Translations

Verb

west (third-person singular simple present wests, present participle westing, simple past and past participle wested)

  1. To move to the west; (of the sun) to set.

Anagrams

Cornish

Etymology

From English west.

Noun

west m

  1. west

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch west, from Old Dutch west, from Proto-West Germanic *westr, from Proto-Germanic *westrą. Compare German West, English and West Frisian west, Danish vest.

Pronunciation

Adverb

west

  1. (only in compounds) west
  2. westwards

Synonyms

Antonyms

Coordinate terms

  • (compass points)
noordwest noord noordoost
west oost
zuidwest zuid zuidoost


Derived terms

Descendants

  • Afrikaans: wes
  • Negerhollands: west
  • → Papiamentu: wèst

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English west.

Pronunciation

Noun

west m (invariable)

  1. West (historic area of America)

References

  1. ^ west in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
See also: ost

Kashubian

Etymology

Borrowed from German West.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈvʲɛst/
  • Syllabification: west

Noun

west m inan

  1. west
    Synonyms: zôchód, zôpôd

Declension

Declension of west
singular plural
nominative west westë
genitive westu westów
dative westowi westóm
accusative west westë
instrumental westã westama
locative wesce westach
vocative west/wesce westë

Further reading

  • Jan Trepczyk (1994) “zachód”, in Słownik polsko-kaszubski (in Kashubian), volumes 1-2
  • Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “zachód”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎
  • “west”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Low German

Verb

west

  1. past participle of wesen

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English west, from Proto-West Germanic *west, *westr, from Proto-Germanic *westrą, from *westraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wek(ʷ)speros (“evening”).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

west

  2. west (compass point)
  3. A location to the south; the south
  4. The west wind
Coordinate terms
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants

Adjective

west

  2. west, western
  3. At the west
Descendants

Adverb

west

  2. To the west, westwards, westbound
  3. From the west, western
  4. In the west
Descendants

References

Etymology 2

Adjective

west

  1. Alternative form of weste (“desolate”)

Etymology 3

Verb

west

  1. Alternative form of westen (“to move west”)

Northern Kurdish

Noun

west f

  1. act of tiring or getting tired

Derived terms

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *westr, see also Old High German west, Old Norse vestr.

Pronunciation

Adverb

west

  1. west

Descendants

  • Middle English: west
  • → Old French: west (see there for further descendants)

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Old English west.

Adverb

west

  1. west

Descendants

Old Saxon

Verb

wēst

  1. second-person present indicative of witan
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