Where does “west” come from?

West comes from Middle English west, from Old English west, from Proto-Germanic westrą and westraz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European wek(ʷ)speros and we-.

west (English): One of the four principal compass points,...

Definitions

  1. One of the four principal compass points,...

Ancestry of “west”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishwestwest; A location to the south; the south; The...
2Old Englishwestwest
3Proto-West Germanic*westrwestern, westernly
4Proto-Germanicwestrąwest; west, westward
5Proto-Germanicwestrazwest, western
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwek(ʷ)sperosevening
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwe-—

Words derived from “west”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European we- →