Westminstern.
/ˈwɛs(t)mɪnstə/, /ˌwɛs(t)ˈmɪnstə/, U.S. /ˈˌwɛs(t)ˈˌmɪnstər/ I. Compounds.† 2. Westminster wedding n. Obsolete colloquial a wedding contracted between two sexually promiscuous people, or purely for sexual gratification; (more generally) a scandalous wedding; an illicit sexual liaison.
1. attributive.† a. Allusively, with reference to Westminster Hall as a court of justice, or (in later use) to the old Palace of Westminster as a place of entertainment or gossip. Obsolete.
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society > law > administration of justice > judicial body, assembly, or court > [adjective] > specific court
Westminster1549
1549 H. Latimer 1st Serm. before Kynges Grace sig. Biiiiv Thus this bargayn became a Westmynster matter, ye lawyers got twyse the valure of the horsse.
a1614 T. Tymme Silver Watch-bell (1634) vii. 140 If his neighbor do damnifie him but the value of two pence, he will prouide a conserue of Westminster-hal wormewood for him out of hand.]
1671 (title) Westminster Drollery. Or a choice Collection of the Newest Songs & Poems.
1692 R. Bourne Contented Cuckold v. 50 You are as void of Sense as the Woman, that because her Gallant turn'd her off, discover'd the Intriegue to her Husband, and made a Westminster business of it.
b. With reference to the assembly of theologians appointed by Parliament in 1643 to consider the doctrines and organization of the Church of England, or to the important confessional and liturgical documents issued by this body, esp. the Westminster Confession.The assembly, now known as the Westminster Assembly, held its first meeting in the Henry VII Chapel of Westminster Abbey, and subsequently met in the Jerusalem Chamber of the Abbey. The Westminster Confession (1646) was adopted by the Church of Scotland and many other Protestant denominations as their basis of faith (with various modifications).
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society > faith > church government > council > Church of England > [adjective]
convocational1641
Westminster1649
society > faith > aspects of faith > creed > kinds of creed > [noun] > other
Augsburg1560
Irish Articles1646
Westminster Confession1649
Scotic Confession1837
Tetrapolitan Confession1847
1649 W. Prynne Arraignment Westminsterian-Juncto's Engagement 6 Whereof the Westminster Conclave in the 16. and 17. pages of their late Declaration..doe sufficiently acquit both Houses.
1658 T. Pierce ᾽Εαυτοντιμωρούμενος: Self-revenger ii. 45 Of the Westminster Divines I said no worse, then that I had not seen their Confessions of Faith.
1660 T. Pierce New Discoverer Discover'd App. 194 Compare with both..Mr. Baxter's Confession of Faith, and that of the Westminster Assembly.
1693 Acct. Establishm. Presbyterian Govt. Scotl. 43 Such a vast number of Propositions as are contained in the Westminster Confession.
1720 Pref. to Addit. Westm. Confession 182 Other catechisms, which..are for no other valuable quality any ways comparable to the Westminster Catechisms.
1843 W. M. Hetherington (title) History of the Westminster Assembly of Divines.
1848 G. Struthers Hist. Relief Ch. 293 These considerations..induced them simply to proclaim their adherence to the Westminster standards.
1859 Biblical Repertory Oct. 727 The practical question of subscription to the Westminster Confession was decided by a large majority against the latitudinarians.
1925 Amer. Mercury Jan. 126/1 [He] took to the vine-leaves simply because the Westminster Catechism, to his generation, had become suddenly intolerable.
1967 D. T. Kauffman Dict. Relig. Terms 253/2 The Calvinistic statement of faith..which became part of the basis of the Westminster Confession.
1992 N. Maclean Young Men & Fire ii. xi. 215 In retrospect I think the experience of listening to me recite the Westminster Catechism influenced his own literary style.
c. With reference to the British Parliament (cf. 8).
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society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [adjective]
Westminsterian1649
Westminster1711
1711 Medley 11 Oct. 1 (heading) Some Remarks on Sir Thomas Double: And, on the Westminster Election.
1784 Parl. Reg. 1781–96 XV. 116 I remember, when absence was deemed a disqualification for naval officers upon a Westminster election.
1807 Morning Chron. 13 Apr. 3/2 The Westminster Company of Independent Performers being lately dissolved.
1845 T. Carter Mem. Working Man 201 The calling of a new Parliament gave me an opportunity of seeing the way in which a Westminster election was sometimes conducted.
1900 Lit. World 16 Mar. 245/1 He has owned up in print to going to a music-hall..when the Westminster entertainment became duller than usual.
1961 Jrnl. Commonw. Polit. Stud. 1 3 In its narrow sense the Westminster Model can be said to mean a constitutional system in which the head of state is not the effective head of government; [etc.].
2004 Daily Tel. 28 Oct. 16/7 He's going to find out quickly that playing these Westminster games here in the EU is going to tick a lot of people off.
d. With reference to Westminster School (the Royal College of St Peter in Westminster) in London.
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society > education > place of education > school > [adjective] > specific schools
Wykehamica1711
Westminster1728
Etonian1749
Wykehamical1758
Pauline1831
Wykehamist1865
Wellingtonian1867
1728 Country Jrnl. 28 Dec. The Annual Meeting of Westminster Scholars will be held as usual on Wednesday January the 15th.
1784 London Mag. Aug. 106/1 On November 17th..Mr. Franklin, and some other Westminster men, met, according to an annual custom, at a tavern.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxiv. 376 The waiters, from their costume, might be mistaken for Westminster boys.
1882 M. Oliphant Lit. Hist. Eng. I. i. 37 The other Westminster lads who had been at school with him had..a great deal more cause for uneasiness than Cowper.
1911 Scribner's Mag. Nov. 626/1 The choir of Westminster boys, whose privilege it is to sing the hymn at the coronation.
2003 M. Longford Path that led to Afr. iii. 26 Nibs and I shared the view of most of the other Westminster boys..that the Hurstpierpoint school dinners were absolutely disgusting.
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society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > a marriage > [noun] > other types
Westminster wedding1660
customary marriage1871
hierogamy1882
companionate1924
companionate marriage1925
customary union1927
plaçage1937
gay marriage1957
open marriage1972
covenant marriage1990
1660 Pract. Part of Love 45 Such a match or a Westminster wedding she could easily and in a short time she doubted not, but to find in the City.
1664 J. Wilson Cheats v. v. 77 We'll be merrie to Night, and have a Wedding, though 't be but a Westminster one.
1698 Concubinage Disprov'd 5 It does not appear by anything our Author says, that his Marriage with Mary Tomkins was any other than Congressus Furtivus, a Westminster Wedding.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Westminster-Wedding, a Whore and a Rogue Married together.
3. Westminster fool n. now chiefly historical a kind of pudding made with bread soaked in sweet wine and covered with a flavoured custard.
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > puddings > [noun] > other puddings
alker1381
moile1381
tansyc1450
tansy-cakea1475
hasty pudding1598
hodge-puddinga1616
bread pudding1623
marrowbone pudding1623
marrow-pudding1631
turmeric puddinga1704
Indian pudding1722
Westminster fool1723
pease pudding1725
pone1725
bread and butter pudding1727
custard pudding1727
purry1751
tartan-purry1751
tansy-pudding1769
vermicelli pudding1769
skimmer-cake1795
dogsbody1818
kugel1823
stickjaw1827
kheer1832
pea pudding1844
dough1848
mousseline1876
mousse1885
goose-pudding1892
payasam1892
tartan1893
malva puddinga1981
1723 J. Nott Cook's & Confectioner's Dict. sig. Pp2 To make a Westminster Fool. Slice a Manchet very thin, and lay it in the Bottom of a Dish, wet the Slices with Sack, [etc.].
1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery ix. 79 A Westminster-Fool. Take a Penny-loaf, cut it into thin Slices, wet them with Sack..take a Quart of Cream, beat up six Eggs [etc.].
1847 S. Rutledge Carolina Housewife 116 Westminster fool. Cut a small loaf into thin slices; moisten them with wine or ratafia, [etc.].
1990 N. Rhyne Alice Flagg (2004) xxi. 140 Dessert was a concoction called Westminster Fool.
4. Westminster chimes n. (also Westminster quarters) the pattern of chimes struck at successive quarters by the bells in the clock tower of the Palace of Westminster, and subsequently incorporated in many clocks and other chiming devices.The pattern of chimes is traditionally said to have been composed by William Crotch (1775–1847) for the church of St Mary the Great in Cambridge, and was subsequently adopted in the Palace of Westminster. It features four bells struck in five different four-note sequences, each of which occurs twice in the course of an hour.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > pattern of chimes
Westminster chimes1858
1858 Musical Times 8 350/2 (heading) Westminster chimes.
1860 E. B. Denison Clocks & Watches & Bells 191 A very grand G hour bell to the BAGD bells of the peal, on which the Cambridge and Westminster quarters might then be struck.
1872 Reynolds's Newspaper 5 May 6/5 This clock strikes the hours on a bell of 25 cwt., and chimes the Westminster quarters on four smaller bells.
1924 Eng. Clocks & Watches (Horol. Jrnl.) 42 The clock can be fitted with Whittington and Westminster Chimes.
1967 ‘R. Simons’ Taxed to Death iv. 63 When Wace pressed the bell-button they heard Westminster chimes ringing in the hall.
1981 Country Life 12 Feb. 362 (advt.) A superb clock..the three chimes, Westminster, Whittington and Winchester, obtainable at will.
2006 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Jan. 144/1 If they [sc. students at St Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire] aren't inside [the chapel] by the time its Westminster chimes toll eight times, their names will be taken.
5. Westminster village n. the community of people working in and around Westminster, including politicians, civil servants, and journalists, considered as a village, esp. with connotations of insularity.
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1971 New Scientist 18 Feb. 378/2 Tom Boardman (Leicester) has created quite a stir in Westminster village.
1990 Economist 1 Dec. 34/1 Until he was catapulted into the job of foreign secretary, few people beyond the Westminster village had noticed him.
1997 D. Marquand New Reckoning iv. 76 To prosper in the Westminster village, Labour MPs had to adopt the mores of the existing villagers.
6. Westminster bubble n. the politicians, civil servants, and journalists working in and around the Westminster parliament, characterized as an insular community, out of touch with the experiences and concerns of the wider British public. (cf. Westminster village n. at sense 5).
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1998 Birmingham Post 7 Dec. 15/6 Remaining within the Westminster bubble is too attractive to the leading hereditary peers.
2003 Hansard Commons 27 Nov. 127 The whole Westminster bubble in which Opposition Members, Government politicians and the media live is completely divorced from the issues about which most people are concerned.
2012 M. Easton Brit. Etc. 116 A great deal of what we think of as ‘the news’ reflects the particular and current interests of those inhabiting the Westminster bubble.
II. Simple uses.
7. A present or former pupil at Westminster School.
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society > education > learning > learner > one attending school > [noun] > pupil at specific school
Etonian1635
Paul's pigeona1661
Westmonasterian1677
Westminster1691
Rugbeian1714
Wykehamist1758
Wykhamite1828
Westminsterian1835
Marlburian1851
Shirburnian1859
Pauline1861
Harrovian1864
Salopian1866
Whitgiftian1880
1691 in F. Atterbury Epistolary Corr. (1783) I. 17 I suppose you expect to do little good but upon the Westminsters.
1761 T. Warton Let. 3 Dec. in Corr. T. Warton (1995) I. 111 We think the Wiccamists have this time beat entirely the Westminsters.
1842 J. Bentall Remarks Westm. School 5 I am confident that the old Westminsters will be found as much attached to the place of their education..as the Wickhamites and the Etonians.
1880 G. Smith Cowper i. 13 The set was strictly confined to Westminsters. Gray and Mason, being Etonians, were objects of its literary hostility.
1921 S. McKenna While I Remember i. 22 Such customs are a picturesque survival, like..the countless phrases and customs which only a Westminster understands and which all Westminsters love.
2000 R. Faber Chain of Cities iii. 24 My having been an old Westminster was never of the slightest advantage to me either in my work or in my personal dealings in later life.
8. The Palace of Westminster regarded as the seat of the British Parliament; hence, by metonymy, Parliament.The present Palace of Westminster (built 1840–67) is more commonly known as the Houses of Parliament.
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society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > English or British parliament > [noun]
High Courtc1300
parliamentc1390
Westminster1845
Mother of Parliaments1865
1845 T. Carlyle in O. Cromwell Lett. & Speeches II. 263 This..was the cry that Westminster raised when the Little Parliament set about reforming Chancery.
1869 A. Trollope Phineas Finn II. lxxiv. 306 The girl whom he loved..better even than Westminster and Downing Street.
1918 G. Frankau One of Them xvii. 127 What art thou, Westminister? A caucused lobby? An oratorial-acrobatic stadium..? Or art indeed the Common Weal's palladium?
1972 Guardian 11 July 13/8 It is sometimes suggested that what de Gaulle did for France in Algeria, Westminster should do for Britain in Ulster.
2006 Prospect Aug. 45/2 A convention has been created that Westminster will not legislate in those areas that have been devolved to Edinburgh.
Derivatives
ˈWestminsterism n. now rare the doctrinal position adopted by or associated with the Westminster Assembly (see sense 1b); advocacy or adoption of this position.
ΚΠ
1882 Confession Faith Cumberland Presbyterian Church (General Assembly, Alabama) 10 The compilers of our Confession were not in a condition to do much more than expunge the more boldly defined statements of distinctive Westminsterism.
1884 United Presbyterian Mag. July 366 Several things had occasioned opposition to the admission of the Cumberland Church, such as these:—its deliberate alteration of the Westminster Confession, its avowed antagonism to what was often named ‘Westminsterism’.
1905 W. T. Dale Difference in Creedal Statem. 12 As Cumberlandism is true gospel, so Westminsterism is true heresy.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1549