1778 Philos. Trans. 1777 (Royal Soc.) 67 752 The continuance of a South-wester carries off the heavy air, deposits a much lighter body in its stead, and never fails to sink the barometer below its mean height.

1788 G. Washington Diary 23 Aug. (1979) V. 382 A pretty fresh Southwester blew afterwards and towards Evening the Weather looked hazy & lowering.

1833 T. Hook Parson's Daughter III. xi. 291 He felt a longing hope that he might fall in with the Dolly in the Channel, although the prevalence of the south-westers rendered it improbable.

1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 176 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Logs of all sizes lie..where they are thrown upon the shore by the October southwesters.

1881 Cent. Mag. Nov. 96/2 Within an hour of land we were caught by a terrific south-wester.

1961 R. Pankhurst Introd. Econ. Hist. Ethiopia 14 This is a south-wester, which carries the vessel with a flowing sail to any part in India, without delay or impediment.

1992 S. Sigfusson Sigfusson's Roads ix. 66 On a solitary trip into a wild, remote place, I drove my canoe into a sudden southwester.

1828 C. White Herbert Milton II. vii. 280 Their heads were protected by strong and almost impenetrable caps, falling down their backs much in the form of those hats called by seamen South-westers.

1883 Cent. Mag. 26 947 The six oil-jackets and south-westers.

1922 C. Laurin Scand. Arts 515 Michael Ancher and Kröyer portrayed the stout seadogs in hip-boots and southwesters at their work on the water.

1946 P. van Paassen Earth could be Fair i. 15 He was dressed in a long coat with a hat commonly known as a southwester pulled over his eyes.

2003 Washintonian (Nexis) Aug. Nancy Madden..went to her cabin to get her hat—a yellow southwester, the better to be seen in the water.

1960 R. F. Logan Central Namib Desert iii. 71 That there is not more smuggling and theft is due to the inherent honesty of South-Westers, rather than to any stringent control.

1978 Guardian Weekly 7 May 6/2 The Teutonic calm of Windhoek... Like their White Rhodesian counterparts most ‘Southwesters’ as they call themselves have yet to grasp the dimension of the change.

1994 Independent (Nexis) 8 Dec. 15 ‘It's all going down the drain, totally,’ said Otto Mack, the treasurer of the Federal Convention of Namibia party and a self-described ‘southwester’ who is trying to learn to become a Namibian.

1832 Ann. Reg. 1831 ii. Chron. 113/2 He wore a smockfrock..and a south-wester cap.

1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast x. 79 We had on oil~cloth suits and south-wester caps.

1846 S. C. Davison tr. C. G. Carus King of Saxony's Journey lxxix. 352 The Blankenese pilot came on board, with his dark fisher's dress and his south-wester hat, looking really something like a dolphin.

1938 Times 7 Mar. 11/4 The men wore south-wester hats, scarlet fishing boots, and russet-coloured smocks.

1980 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 16 July 13 Some are eager to make a special splash in this sea of delegates..by sporting blue cowboy hats as Texas delegates, gold southwester hats as the Maine delegates, or prominent purple shoulder-to-waist sashes as most Californians.