downeastern.
/ˌdaʊnˈiːstə/, U.S. /ˌdaʊnˈistər/ North American.
1. A person who lives in or comes from a place regarded as ‘down east’; spec. a native or inhabitant of New England (esp. eastern Maine) or the Maritime Provinces of Canada, esp. the coastal districts. More widely: a resident of the eastern parts of the United States or Canada, esp. as regarded by inhabitants of more western parts (cf. back East adv.).See note at down east n. 1.
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a1828 J. Bernard Retrospections of Amer. (1887) ii. 37 This curious class of mammalia, the ‘Down-Easter’ as it is often called.
1846 G. Warburton Hochelaga II. 22 There were Southerners and Northerners, Downeasters, and Westerns.
1865 Leader (Toronto) 30 Jan. 2/4 Jean Baptiste [i.e. French Canada] was represented by..a Down-Easter in bed-gown, Sam Slick, [etc.].
1886 Life 10 June 326/2 ‘Say, can't you please have a good, honest down-easter step to the telephone? I—’ ‘Down-easter!..There are n't any honest down-easters, and this is n't down East. This is Portland, Maine.’
1913 F. F. Bingham Ashore at Maiden's Walk viii. 74 There ain't anybody, anywhere, that can get the shape to a ship like them Downeasters.
1958 J. G. MacGregor North-west of 16 vii. 91 There were two kinds of Down-Easters, those from the Maritimes and those from Ontario; each was as much superior to the other as the way they did things down east was superior to the way people did things out here.
1995 Pop. Sci. July 85/1 The wind in Maine's boundary mountains blows strongest during the winter, and that is when down-easters most need electricity to heat their homes.
2006 Saltscapes (Canada) Sept. 66/1 People not too well acquainted with lobsters think of them as red in colour, but ‘downeasters’ know better.
2. Any of various types of sailing vessel built in or typical of New England, esp. Maine; spec. a big, flat-floored but efficient, (typically) three-masted ship-rigged vessel, used for long-distance bulk trade in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (now historical). In later use also: a type of motorized boat with an open, square stern, typically used along the coast of New England for fishing and lobstering.Some downeasters were built as four-masted barks as well, and the term was applied in the 20th cent. to huge four-, five-, and six-masted schooners, but the classic downeaster was a three-masted ship.
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1835 J. H. Ingraham South-West I. xv. 161 Miserable-looking sloops and schooners, compared to which, our ‘down easters’ are packet ships.
1924 R. Clements Gipsy of Horn 84 If this ship was a ‘down-easter’ she'd be flauntin' a main-royal.
1962 Mariner's Mirror 48 234 At Portland were lying several timber-built Yankee skysail yarders, Down Easters, famous Cape Horners of their day.
1989 B. Joel Downeaster Alexa (transcribed from song) in Storm Front I'm on the Downeaster Alexa, And I'm cruising through Block Island Sound.
2010 G. Wilder Jus' Restin' ii. 32 A tan-colored lobster boat was approaching... It was a typical ‘down-easter’ craft, with the large flared bow sweeping back to the low water stern.
2011 Bangor (Maine) Daily News (Nexis) 27 May c6 While clipper ships didn't carry as much cargo as Downeasters, they were ideal for transporting tea for Britain's East India Co.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2018; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.a1828