West Coastn.adj.
/ˌwɛs(t) ˈkəʊst/, U.S. /ˈˌwɛs(t) ˈkoʊst/ A. n.
The western coast of a country or region; esp. (a) (New Zealand) the western or south-western coast of the South Island of New Zealand; (b) the western coast of the United States, esp. California.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > seashore or coast > [noun] > coast line > western
West Coastc1400
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xviii. l. 113 Þere I sawe sothely..Out of þe west coste a wenche, as me thouȝte, Cam walkynge in þe way.
1555 R. Eden Of North Regions in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 273v The description of the west coaste, with the parte thereof lyinge most towarde the north.
1689 in Acts Parl. Scotl. (1875) XII. 54/2 That two friggetts be gott to cruse on the west coasts.
1765 Gentleman's & London Mag. Oct. 603/1 Glenaladale was dispatched to look out for ships on the west coast.
1787 World & Fashionable Advertiser 7 Feb. The Partaker, Knowles, from Bridport for Cadiz, is lost on the West Coast of Ireland.
1845 N.Z. Jrnl. 13 Sept. 234/2 Of the west coast of the Middle Island, commonly called by the whalers the ‘West Side’, we heard a good deal.
1850 Calif. Courier (San Francisco) 2 Dec. 2/1 Our position here on the West Coast has been and still is a peculiar one.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 8 Sound knowledge..collected during an acquaintance with the West Coast of over thirty years.
1926 A. Huxley Jesting Pilate iv. 287 The stranger coming to the West Coast will be astonished by the amount of casual embracement.
1959 A. H. McLintock Descr. Atlas N.Z. p. xvi The road..here swings in a northerly direction..towards Arthur's Pass, 3,020ft, and thence to the West Coast.
1977 H. Fast Immigrants ii. 88 We're the lifeline, the West Coast, San Francisco.
2004 Independent 29 July 38/5 We tour the country regularly in a caravan, and have, indeed, only just returned from a six-week tour of the Orkneys and West Coast.
B. adj. (attributive).
1. Designating, originating from, or relating to the western coast of a country, esp. (in later use) of the United States.
ΚΠ
1804 Curtis's Bot. Mag. 20 755 (heading) Pergularia Minor. West-Coast Creeper.
1862 Jrnl. Royal Geogr. Soc. 32 294 Arrangements entered into with the Provincial Government of Nelson for the survey of the West Coast district of that province.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 324 The other iron-working West Coast tribes.
1924 Travel Apr. 41/2 Itinerant hucksters are one of the arresting characteristics of street life in the West Coast cities.
1971 Country Life 9 Dec. 1642/2 Last year..the west-coast herrings proved to be the only plentiful supply in northern Europe.
2006 Icon May 73/2 It's possible to be both an environmentally aware West Coast surf-dude and work for brands such as Nike.
2. Originally U.S. Designating a style of modern jazz originating in Los Angeles in the late 1940s, typified by small ensembles, technical sophistication, and elaborate writing.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > jazz > [adjective] > types of
Chicagoan1861
bad1897
hot1918
red-hot1918
soft1921
low-down1922
sweet1924
barrel-house1926
New Orleans1926
straight1926
crazy1927
dirty1927
hotcha1930
jungle1935
solid1935
traditional jazz1935
powerhouse1937
gutty1939
riffy1939
jivey1944
Kansas City1946
cool1948
West Coast1949
far-out1954
nutty1955
swinging1955
mainstream1957
Afro-Latin1958
1949 Billboard 19 Mar. 45/2 Number 2 in Gene Norman's West Coast jazz concert series is four sides of ‘One o'Clock Jump’, jam session style, with a stellar group of sidemen pouring it on.
1954 Downbeat 7 Apr. 6/1 The latest example of this thinking-by-pigeonholes is the attempt to convince the populace that there is a growing west coast school of jazz.
1962 Melody Maker 21 July 7/1 Some of the 1954 tracks have a nostalgic, almost dated, appeal, in the writing, it is so typical of West Coast jazz of the time—neat, smooth and often very clever.
1980 New Grove Dict. Music XX. 371/2 Miles Davis's 1949–50 recordings were an initial influence as is shown by such archetypal West Coast performances as Rogers's Didi (1951).
2006 I. Anderson This is our Music ii. 87 Experimental musicians..saw the music industry's rewards..disproportionately favor white performers who adhered most closely to the classically-tinged West Coast and cool jazz styles.
3. Originally U.S. Designating a kind of large wing mirror used esp. on trucks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > mirror > [adjective]
unfoiled1640
reflex1672
quicksilvered1754
mirrored1820
convex-concave1841
West Coast1957
1957 Billboard 29 Apr. 75 (advt.) Fully equipped, fifth wheels, signal lights, saddle tanks, nice tires, West Coast mirrors.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 41 (advt.) Mercury ¾ ton pickup... 4 speed transmission, west coast mirrors.
1980 Truck & Bus Transportation (Austral.) Mar. 96/1 All-round vision is generally good, but Cronulla Carrying have gone one step further by replacing the meagre standard mirrors with the efficient west-coast type.
1992 Pop. Mech. Apr. 110/1 Those big West Coast mirrors will vibrate a certain amount no matter what.
Compounds
West Coast offence n. American Football a style of offensive strategy relying on short, horizontal passes to open up gaps in the opposing defence.Such strategies are associated with a number of successful West Coast teams of the 1970s and 1980s.
ΚΠ
1993 Denver Post 25 Apr. 8 b/1 True to his word, Denver Broncos coach Wade Phillips has become serious about this ‘West Coast offense’ business.
1997 S. Fowler & C. Chandler Year of Cat viii. 133 The West Coast offense features a short, precise passing game, usually employing three receivers.
2008 S. Fatsis Few Seconds of Panic viii. 133 In the West Coast offense that Denver employs, the quarterback typically looks first to a designated primary receiver.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.adj.c1400