# western

Pronunciation: US say "WES-turn" /ˈwɛstɚn/; UK say "WES-tuhn" /ˈwɛstən/

## Adjective

1. Lying in, facing toward, or having to do with the west.
   - Simple: Found in, facing, or coming from the west side of a place.
   - _The western provinces receive far more rainfall than the rest of the country._
   - _She bought a house on the western slope of the valley._
2. Of, relating to, or characteristic of the cultures of Europe and the Americas, in contrast to those of Asia; Occidental.
   - Simple: Relating to Europe and the Americas and their way of life, not the East.
   - _Western philosophy traces many of its roots to ancient Greece._
   - _The museum compares western and eastern approaches to portraiture._
4. Belonging to or modeled on the cowboy and ranching life of the American West, particularly in dress, horsemanship, or music.
   - Simple: Like the cowboys and cattle farms of the American West, mostly in clothes, horse riding, or music.
   - _The store sells western boots, belt buckles, and wide-brimmed hats._
   - _She switched from an English saddle to a western one when she started working cattle._
5. Describing a wind or air current that blows from the west toward the east; westerly.
   - Simple: Used of wind that blows from the west toward the east.
   - _Steady western winds drove the sailing ships eastward across the bay._
   - _All afternoon a cool western wind blew in off the Pacific, rattling the shutters of the beach houses._

## Noun

3. A film, novel, or other story set in the American West of about 1850 to 1910, centered on frontier conflicts such as lawmen against outlaws or ranchers against farmers.
   - Simple: A movie or story set in the American West long ago, often about cowboys, outlaws, and lawmen.
   - _The director's latest western follows a retired sheriff hunting a gang of cattle thieves._
   - _Classic westerns often pit struggling homesteaders against powerful railroad companies._

## Origin

From Middle English westerne, from Old English westerne, going back to Proto-Germanic *westrōnijaz; it is essentially "west" plus the suffix -ern.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/western (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).