east–westadv.adj.n.
/ˌiːs(t)ˈwɛst/, U.S. /ˌis(t)ˈwɛst/ A. adv.
From east to west in direction; in alignment with a line of latitude.
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1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 43/1 There is a long room runs East-West, the door to the South.
1875 Chem. News 1 Oct. 162/2 One morning I found it pointing east-west, or nearly so; it had lost its acquired magnetism entirely.
1916 Classical Jrnl. 12 90 He also speaks of Britain as lying opposite Germany, Gaul, and Spain, and also makes the parallel coast lines run east-west.
1952 W. J. Miller Introd. Hist. Geol. (ed. 6) x. 90 The resulting Killarney Mountains extended nearly east-west for hundreds of miles from the southern border of Quebec province.
2000 D. Steel Marking Time xix. 298 Because the synodic month is not an integer number of days, the curve will move east-west from lunation to lunation.
B. adj.
1. Following a course from east to west; having the alignment of a line of latitude.
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1822 tr. F. Cailliaud Trav. Oasis Thebes 4 The different turnings of his route, almost always east west.
1894 Jrnl. Iron & Steel Inst. 44 318 The Sierra Maestra, which..forms an east-west wall which separates the city from the rest of the island.
1917 L. Dominian Frontiers Lang. & Nationality in Europe xi. 264 A sign of the importance they [sc. Damascus, Homs, Hama, and Aleppo] had as stages in this southern east-west route.
1950 N.Y. Times 2 Dec. 17/1 The committee recommends acquisition..of..the 5-mile east-west line of the railroad along the peninsula itself.
2006 H. Sides Blood & Thunder ix. 60 Many maps of the day showed a major east-west river that led from the Great Lakes all the way across the continent to the Pacific Ocean.
2. Chiefly with capital initials. Relating to or characteristic of relations between eastern and western parts of the world or of a country; esp. relating to or characteristic of relations between the Communist and capitalist nations during the period of the Cold War (now historical).In quot. 1938: relating to relations between the eastern and western parts of the United States.
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1916 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 36 174 The dominant idea of the day was to find means of facilitating east-west trade in the eastern hemisphere.
1938 Jrnl. Southern Hist. 4 63 The effect of the abolition crusade..[was] to pave the way for the East-West alliance on which the Republican party was founded.
1947 Times 25 Nov. 4/6 There is a grievous need for a restoration of east-west trade and friendship.
1968 K. Martin Editor xv. 318 It would be very difficult to maintain an objective view of East/West relations.
2003 S. Erb German Foreign Policy 48 That consensus was challenged first by renewed East-West hostility, and then by the Eastern bloc crumbling.
C. n.
Bridge. The partnership of East and West. Frequently attributive. Cf. east n.1 6, west n.1 6.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > bridge > [noun] > player or players > by position
east1894
south1894
west1894
east–west1908
north1965
1908 Chicago Sunday Tribune 8 Mar. iii. 4/4 The north-south players do not move at all, but the east-west players are moved after each set of four deals.
1939 Times 25 July 15/6 East-West can make two tricks in Diamonds and no more.
2009 J. Laderman Bridge to Inspired Declared Play 53 Modify the East-West cards so that declarer must start with a diamond ruff in order to prevent East from overruffing a diamond.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.adj.n.1776