Etymograph

English

west

West comes from Middle English west, from Old English west, from Proto-Germanic *westrą, ultimately from PIE *wek⁽ʷ⁾speros ‘evening’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wek⁽ʷ⁾speros1‘evening’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*westraz1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*westrą1reconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*westr1‘western’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150west1
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500west1
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1596west1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English west
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book V, Prologue: “Foure times his place he shifted hath in sight,…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*wek⁽ʷ⁾sperosWiktionary, English west‘evening’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*westrazWiktionary, English westreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*westrąWiktionary, English westreconstructed
  4. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*westrWiktionary, English west‘western’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150westWiktionary, English west
  6. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500westWiktionary, English west
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1596westWiktionary, English west. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1596, Edmund Spenser, Book V, Prologue: “Foure times his place he shifted hath in sight,…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *kʷséps ‘night’

vespers, 8 more

through Proto-Indo-European *wek⁽ʷ⁾speros ‘evening’

vesper, 8 more

Today it means

noun The direction opposite to that of the earth's rotation, specifically 270°.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “west”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *wek⁽ʷ⁾speros / west

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