West

• In most senses and as an English surname, from west, the direction.
• As a Finnish surname, Americanized from Vesterinen.

• IPA^(key): /wɛst/

West (countable and uncountable, plural Wests)

1. A placename:
   1. The western world; i.e. Western Europe, the US and Canada (sometimes includes Latin America), and Australia and New Zealand.
   2. (historical) The Western Bloc (the non-communist nations of Europe and America).
      • 1994 [1994 March 30], Richard Nixon, “Author's Note”, in Beyond Peace‎^[1], New York: Random House, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 253:

        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 noble campaign to ensure the victory of freedom, both abroad and at home.

      • 2022 August 24, Steve Scherer, Ismail Shakil, “China warns of 'forceful measures' if Canada interferes in Taiwan”, in Tomasz Janowski, editor, Reuters‎^[2], archived from the original on 24 August 2022, World‎^[3]:

        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.

   3. (US) The Western United States (sometimes excluding the West Coast), particularly (historical) in reference to the 19th century Wild West.
      • 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter I, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:

        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.

   4. A town in Holmes County, Mississippi, United States.
   5. A city in McLennan County, Texas, United States.
   6. An unincorporated community in Wetzel County, West Virginia, United States.
   7. A number of townships in the United States, in Illinois (2), Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania, listed under West Township.
2. Regions or countries lying to the west of a specified or implied point of orientation.
3. The western part of any region.

   Senegal is a nation that lies in the West.

4. One of four positions at 90-degree intervals that lies to the west or on the left of a diagram.
5. (countable) A person (as a bridge player) occupying this position during a specified activity.
6. (countable) A surname from Middle English for a newcomer from the west, or someone who lived to the west of a village.
   • 2022 February 11, Peony Hirwani, “Kanye West tells fan who suggested he’s off medication to ‘be more conscious’”, in The Independent‎^[4]:

     Kanye West took to social media to speak about mental health after a fan claimed that the rapper was “off his meds”.

• The West on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

• “West”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• West in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “West”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

• ESWT, Stew, Tews, ewts, stew, tews, wets

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛst/
• Rhymes: -ɛst

• Audio:

  (file)

West m (strong, genitive Wests or West, no plural)

1. the west (used without article; a short form of Westen)

   der Wind kommt aus West ― the wind is coming from the west

2. a wind coming from the west (used with article)

compass points (short-form):  ^[edit]

• westlich
• westwärts

• Kashubian: west