west
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west¹
- /wɛst/
- /wɛst/ British, Southern, Standard
Rhymes with -ɛst
Where it comes from
PIE word
*wek⁽ʷ⁾speros
From Middle English west, from Old English west, from Proto-West Germanic *westr (“western”), from Proto-Germanic *westrą (“west”), from Proto-Germanic *westraz (“west”), from Proto-Indo-European *wek⁽ʷ⁾speros (“evening”).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots wast (“west”), North Frisian waast, weest, wäst (“west”), Saterland Frisian Wääste (“west”), West Frisian and Dutch west (“west”), German West (“west”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk vest (“west”), Faroese and Icelandic vestur (“west”), Swedish väst, väster (“west”); also with Irish feascar, feasgar (“evening; vespers”), Cornish gorthugher (“evening”), Manx fastyr (“afternoon, evening; vespers”), Scottish Gaelic feasgar (“afternoon, evening”), Latin vesper (“evening”), Ancient Greek ἕσπερος (hésperos, “evening; western”), Latvian vakars (“evening”), Lithuanian vakaras (“evening”), Czech, Slovak and Slovene večer (“evening”), Kashubian wieczór (“evening”), Polish wieczerz, wieczór (“evening”), Russian вечер (večer, “evening”), Serbo-Croatian вече, вечер, veče, večer (“evening”), Armenian գիշեր (gišer, “night”). Compare also Catalan oest (“west”), French ouest (“west”), Galician oeste, ueste (“west”), Italian ovest (“west”), Portuguese, Spanish oeste (“west”) (all ultimately borrowings of the Old English word).
noun wests
- The direction opposite to that of the earth's rotation, specifically 270°. We used to live in the west of the country.
- The western region or area; the inhabitants thereof.
- 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. 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.
adjective
- Situated or lying in or toward the west; westward.
- Of wind: from the west.
- Of or pertaining to the west; western.
- From the West; occidental.
- Designating, or situated in, the liturgical west, that part of a church which is opposite to, and farthest from, the part containing the chancel. 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 ...
adverb further west · farther west · furthest west · farthest west
- Towards the west; westwards. This thoroughfare bears (to the) West.
verb wests · westing · wested
- To move to the west; (of the sun), to set. Foure times his place he shifted hath in sight, / And twice has risen, where he now doth West, / And wested twice, where he ought rise aright.
West²
- /wɛst/
Where it comes from
* In most senses and as an English surname, by proprialization from west.
* As a Finnish surname, Americanized from Vesterinen.
proper noun Wests
- The western world; i.e. the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The relationship between China and the West has worsened since U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan earlier this month against Beijing's wishes.
- The Western Bloc (the non-communist nations of Europe and America). When I came to Washington forty-seven years ago, the predominant issue was ensuring that the United States would step up to the communist threat, both abroad and at home. The ultimate satisfaction is to have lived long enough to see the West defeat communism and begin a new, equally arduous, equally
- The Western United States (sometimes excluding the West Coast), particularly (historical) in reference to the 19th century Wild West. I was about to say that I had known the Celebrity from the time he wore kilts. But I see I will have to amend that, because he was not a celebrity then, nor, indeed, did he achieve fame until some time after I left New York for the West.
- The Western Roman Empire, or its successors.
- The part of the Christian Church whose traditions and practices originated in the territories of the former Western Roman Empire, including the Roman Catholic Church and the churches of the Reformation. I shall constantly reckon among the Saints those whom the Eastern Church, whether with or without the consent of the West, so accounts.
- A town in Holmes County, Mississippi, United States.
- A city in McLennan County, Texas, United States.
- An unincorporated community in Wetzel County, West Virginia, United States.
- A number of townships in the United States, in Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania, listed under West Township.
- One of four positions at 90-degree intervals that lies to the west or on the left of a diagram.
- A person (as a bridge player) occupying this position during a specified activity.
- A surname from Middle English for a newcomer from the west, or someone who lived to the west of a village. Kanye West took to social media to speak about mental health after a fan claimed that the rapper was “off his meds”.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: occident, w, westside, westward, westbound, westerly, westmost, westernmost, western, due west, east, orbital, coast, strip, spoke, occ
Translations
Every language
noun compass point
| Español | oeste, poniente, occidente |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 서 seo, 하늬 hanui, 서쪽 seojjok |
| 日本語 | 西 nishi, 西方 seihō |
| 中文 | 西 xī, 西方 xīfāng |
| हिन्दी | पश्चिम paścim, पश्चिमा paścimā, पच्छिम pacchim, पच्छम paccham, मग़रब maġrab, मग़रिब maġrib |
| Kiswahili | magharibi |
| Português | oeste, ocidente, poente |
| Français | ouest, occident, ponant |
| Deutsch | West, Westen |
| Italiano | ovest, occidente, ponente |
| Ελληνικά | δύση dýsi |
| Română | vest, apus, occident |
| Русский | за́пад západ, вест vest |
| Tiếng Việt | tây, phía tây, hướng tây |
| العربية | غَرْب ḡarb, مَغْرِب maḡrib |
| עברית | מַעֲרָב ma'aráv, יָם yam |
adj towards the west
| Español | al oeste |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 西 nishi |
| 中文 | 西 xī |
| Português | ocidental |
| Français | vers l'ouest |
| Deutsch | westlich, westwärts |
| Ελληνικά | δυτικός dytikós |
adj western
| Español | occidental |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 西部 seibu |
| Português | ocidental |
| Français | occidental |
| Deutsch | westlich |
| Ελληνικά | δυτικός dytikós |
| Русский | за́падный západnyj |
adj occidental
| Español | occidental |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 西洋 seiyō, 欧米 ōbei |
| Português | ocidental |
| Français | occidental |
| Deutsch | westlich, abendländisch |
| Ελληνικά | δυτικός dytikós |
| Русский | за́падный západnyj |
name Western Europe (geographic, cultural)
| 한국어 | 서구 Seogu, 서부 Seobu |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 西洋 Seiyō |
| 中文 | 西方 Xīfāng |
| Français | Occident |
| Deutsch | Westeuropa |
| Ελληνικά | Εσπερία Espería, Δυτική Ευρώπη Dytikí Evrópi |
| Русский | За́пад Západ |
name Western Bloc, Western Europe (Cold War)
| 한국어 | 서구 Seogu, 서구권 Seogugwon |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 西側 |
| Français | Ouest |
| Deutsch | Westen |
| Русский | За́пад Západ |
name Western world
| Español | Occidente |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 서양 Seoyang, 서구 Seogu, 구미 Gumi, 구미권 Gumigwon, 서방 Seobang |
| 日本語 | 西洋 Seiyō, 欧米 Ō-Bei, 西方 Seihō |
| 中文 | 西方 Xīfāng, 西洋 Xīyáng, 歐美 /欧美 Ōu-Měi |
| हिन्दी | पश्चिम paścim, मग़रिब maġrib |
| Português | Ocidente |
| Français | Occident, Ouest |
| Deutsch | Westen, Okzident, Abendland, westliche Welt |
| Italiano | Occidente |
| Ελληνικά | Δύση Dýsi, Εσπερία Espería |
| Română | Vestul |
| Русский | За́пад Západ |
| Tiếng Việt | phưng tây, phương Tây, Tây phương |
| العربية | الْغَرْب al-ḡarb |
| עברית | מַעֲרָב ma'aráv |
name Western United States
| 한국어 | 서부 seobu |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 西部 seibu |
| Français | Far West |
| Ελληνικά | Δυτικές Πολιτείες Dytikés Politeíes |
| Русский | Ди́кий За́пад Díkij Západ |
Talk about this word "west." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/west. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. west. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/west "west." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/west.Cite this
@misc{west_2026,
title = {west},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/west},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
