Wiktionary

west

See also: West

English

edit
 
West.
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

edit
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

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

Noun

edit

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. [circa 1300]
  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

edit

(compass points)

northwest north northeast
west   east
southwest south southeast


Derived terms

edit

Translations

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

Adjective

edit

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

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

Adverb

edit

west (not comparable)

  1. Towards the west; westwards.

Translations

edit

Verb

edit

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. [from 15th c.]

Anagrams

edit

Cornish

edit

Etymology

edit

From English west.

Noun

edit

west m

  1. west

Synonyms

edit

Antonyms

edit

Derived terms

edit

Dutch

edit

Etymology

edit

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

edit

Adverb

edit

west

  1. (only in compounds) west
  2. westwards

Synonyms

edit

Antonyms

edit

Coordinate terms

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


Derived terms

edit

Descendants

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

Italian

edit

Etymology

edit

Unadapted borrowing from English west.

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

west m (invariable)

  1. West (historic area of America)

References

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

Kashubian

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from German West.

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /ˈvɛst/
  • Rhymes: -ɛst
  • Syllabification: west

Noun

edit

west m inan

  1. (fishing) west
    Synonyms: zôchód, zôpôd

Declension

edit
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

Coordinate terms

edit
  • (compass points)
Normal names
norda
północ
zôchód   pòrénk
wschód
pôłnie
Fishing names
nordwest norda nordóst
west   óst
zudwest zuda zudóst

Further reading

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

Low German

edit

Verb

edit

west

  1. past participle of wesen

Middle English

edit

Etymology 1

edit

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

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

west

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

Adjective

edit

west

  2. west, western
  3. At the west
Descendants
edit

Adverb

edit

west

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

References

edit

Etymology 2

edit

Adjective

edit

west

  1. Alternative form of weste (“desolate”)

Etymology 3

edit

Verb

edit

west

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

Northern Kurdish

edit

Noun

edit

west f

  1. act of tiring or getting tired

Derived terms

edit

Old English

edit

Etymology

edit

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

Pronunciation

edit

Adverb

edit

west

  1. west
    • late 9th century, translation of Bede's Ecclesiastical History
      [Wiht] is þrittiġes mīla lang ēast ⁊ west, ⁊ twelf mīla brād sūð ⁊ norð.
      [Wight] is thirty miles long east-to-west and twelve miles wide north-to-south.

Derived terms

edit

Descendants

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

Old French

edit

Etymology

edit

Borrowed from Old English west.

Adverb

edit

west

  1. west

Descendants

edit

Old Saxon

edit

Verb

edit

wēst

  1. second-person present indicative of witan
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=west&oldid=82585349"