out Westadv.n.adj.
/ˌaʊt ˈwɛst/, U.S. /ˈaʊt ˈwɛst/ A. adv.
Originally: in or to the territory to the west of the early American settlements; (in later use) in or to the distant West of the United States. Also in extended use: in or to the western parts of Canada or Australia.In O.E.D. Supplement (1982) quot. 1834 is treated as showing the (rarer) noun use. However, the phrase can be taken as meaning ‘everything (that is) Out-West’, with Out-West as adverb. Priority of adverbial use would be expected.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [adverb] > U.S.A. > West
west1818
out West1834
1834 C. F. Hoffman Let. 7 Apr. in Winter in West (1835) II. 141 Old Kaintuck..whips all ‘Out-West’ in prettiness.
1841 Southport (Wisconsin Territory) Tel. 2 Nov. 2/1 A terrible savage chap lives out West. He shaves himself with sheet-lightning and eats pickled thunderbolts for his breakfast.
1857 Lawrence (Kansas Territory) Republican 4 June 2 Any one who has spent any time in farming ‘out west’, will see that this is a mistake.
1887 C. B. George 40 Years on Rail 62 New York State was considered ‘out West’ then.
1944 Living off Land: Man. Bushcraft iv. 81 The country out-west is full of dead men's bones.
1952 Manch. Guardian Weekly 17 July 15 He worked as a section hand out west on the Union Pacific railroad.
1977 R. McKie Crushing (1978) 131 It came from a place out west.
1993 Geist Sept.–Oct. 21 A Canadian Phrasebook-In-Progress..Toronto..out West:..Dundurn, Sask..the coast.
B. n.
Originally: this region to the west of the American settlements; (in later use) the distant West of the United States as regarded by inhabitants of the East (cf. west n.1 3a(d)). Also in extended use. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [noun] > United States > western states > far west
Far West1830
out West1845
1845 N. P. Willis Dashes at Life with Free Pencil iv. 198 We have the Down East embodied in Jack Downing and his imitators. There was wanting a literary embodiment of the Out West.
1859 Harper's Mag. Jan. 217/1 All the enterprising young males..had gone to seek their fortunes in places yet alive, like New York or the ‘Out West’.
1869 T. D'Arcy McGee Ireland of Druids in Poems II. 182 (note) Ireland was the ‘Out West’ of Europe until America began to be peopled.
C. adj.
Of, relating to, or designating this region of the United States. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > America > North America > [adjective] > U.S.A. > Western States
western1703
occidental1809
out West1848
1848 R. W. Griswold Passages from Corr. (1898) 243 The ‘out West Editor’ would inform her..as to who he is.
1899 Spectator 3 June 789/1 Malcolm Kirk, an ‘out West’ minister..sacrifices his scholarly tastes..in the hope of weaning a lot of roughs and cowboys from gambling and drink.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.n.adj.1834