Western world, n. meanings, etymology and more

First published 2017

Etymology
Meaning & use
Pronunciation
Forms
Frequency

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Factsheet

What does the noun Western world mean?

There are two meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun Western world. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

See meaning & use

How common is the noun Western world?

About 2occurrences per million words in modern written English

1750	0.045
1760	0.074
1770	0.18
1780	0.25
1790	0.27
1800	0.23
1810	0.18
1820	0.19
1830	0.22
1840	0.29
1850	0.35
1860	0.4
1870	0.43
1880	0.49
1890	0.58
1900	0.69
1910	0.81
1920	1.0
1930	1.3
1940	1.8
1950	2.2
1960	2.4
1970	2.2
1980	1.9
1990	1.8
2000	1.8
2010	1.8

See frequency

How is the noun Western world pronounced?

British English

/ˌwɛst(ə)n ˈwəːld/

wess-tuhn-WURLD

U.S. English

/ˌwɛstərn ˈwərld/

wess-tuhrn-WURLD

See pronunciation

Where does the noun Western world come from?

Earliest known use

late 1500s

The earliest known use of the noun Western world is in the late 1500s.

OED's earliest evidence for Western world is from 1586, in the writing of William Warner, poet and lawyer.

Western world is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: western adj., world n.

See etymology

Nearby entries

western saddle, n.1883–
western sandwich, n.1908–
Western States, n.1787–
western swing, n.1940–
western tanager, n.1868–
western toad, n.1876–
Western Union, n.1948–
Western Wall, n.1899–
western waters, n.1777–
western white pine, n.1857–
Western world, n.1586–
western yellow pine, n.1857–
westerveldite, n.1972–
west-facing, adj.1869–
westfalite, n.1894–
west gallery, adj.1881–
West German, adj. & n.1849–
West Germanic, adj. & n.1852–
west-going, adj.1843–
west half, n.Old English–
West Highland, n.1761–

Browse more nearby entries

Etymology

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Entry history for Western world, n.

Western world, n. was first published in September 2017.

Western world, n. was last modified in July 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into Western world, n. in July 2023.

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Factsheet for Western world, n.

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Nearby entries

western saddle, n.1883–
western sandwich, n.1908–
Western States, n.1787–
western swing, n.1940–
western tanager, n.1868–
western toad, n.1876–
Western Union, n.1948–
Western Wall, n.1899–
western waters, n.1777–
western white pine, n.1857–
Western world, n.1586–
western yellow pine, n.1857–
westerveldite, n.1972–
west-facing, adj.1869–
westfalite, n.1894–
west gallery, adj.1881–
West German, adj. & n.1849–
West Germanic, adj. & n.1852–
west-going, adj.1843–
west half, n.Old English–
West Highland, n.1761–

Browse more nearby entries

Jul	AUG	Sep
	20
2023	2024	2025