West

West
This long-established surname is of early medieval English origins. It is topographical deriving from the Olde English pre 7th century word "west", and as such it described a person or persons who lived to the west of a main settlement. Alternatively it may have been a regional descriptive nickname for someone who had migrated from "The west" to another part of the country. Perhaps not entirely surprisingly it is first recorded in the county of Essex, which is as far to the east as it is possible to go. The surname is first recorded in the 12th century (see below), and other early recordings include: Goche West, who appears in the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk in 1197, and William del West, who is recorded in the Select Pleas of Essex in 1292. Nicholas West (1461 - 1533), sometime bishop of Ely, was frequently employed on diplomatic missions to Scotland, Germany, France and Castile during the period 1502 - 1525. He was also chaplain to Queen Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry V111th, and was opposed to the divorce proceedings of 1529. One of the earliest settlers in the English colonies in the New World was John West. He embarked from the port of London in May 1635, aboard the ship "Speedwell" bound for Virginia. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Maurice de West. This was dated 1152, in the Pipe Rolls of Essex, during the reign of King Stephen, known as "Count of Blois", 1135 - 1154. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

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  • West — (en inglés Oeste) hace referencia a varios artículos en la wikipedia: Contenido 1 Lugares 1.1 Europa 1.2 Norteamérica 2 Música …   Wikipedia Español

  • west — /west/, n. 1. a cardinal point of the compass, 90° to the left when facing north, corresponding to the point where the sun is seen to set. Abbr.: W 2. the direction in which this point lies. 3. (usually cap.) a region or territory situated in… …   Universalium

  • West — /west/, n. 1. Benjamin, 1738 1820, U.S. painter, in England after 1763. 2. Mae, 1892? 1980, U.S. actress. 3. Nathanael (Nathan Wallenstein Weinstein), 1902? 40, U.S. novelist. 4. Paul, born 1930, U.S. poet, essayist, and novelist, born in England …   Universalium

  • West — West, Morris * * * (as used in expressions) West Point Bandaranaike, S(olomon) W(est) R(idgeway) D(ias) De La Warr, Thomas West, 12° barón Key West North West Co. Sackville West, Vita Victoria Mary Sackville West SWAPO sigla de South West Africa… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • west*/*/*/ — [west] noun I 1) [U] the direction that is behind you when you are facing the rising sun We ve driven from east to west.[/ex] See: east 2) the west [singular] the part of a place that is in the west The country s major cities are all in the… …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • West — West, n. [AS. west, adv.; akin to D. west, G. west, westen, OHG. westan, Icel. vestr, Sw. vest, vester, vestan, Dan. vest, vesten, and perhaps to L. vesper evening, Gr. ?. ????. Cf. {Vesper}, {Visigoth}.] [1913 Webster] 1. The point in the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • West — West, a. 1. Lying toward the west; situated at the west, or in a western direction from the point of observation or reckoning; proceeding toward the west, or coming from the west; as, a west course is one toward the west; an east and west line; a …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • west — O.E. west in or toward the west, from P.Gmc. *wes t (Cf. O.N. vestr, O.Fris., M.Du., Du. west, O.H.G. west, only in compounds, Ger. west), from PIE *wes (source of Gk. hesperos, L. vesper evening, west ), perhaps an enlarged form of root *we to… …   Etymology dictionary

  • west — [west] n. [ME < OE, akin to Ger < IE * we (< base * au , down, away from) > Gr hesperos, L vesper, evening] 1. the direction to the left of a person facing north; direction in which sunset occurs: it is properly the point on the… …   English World dictionary

  • west — ► NOUN (usu. the west) 1) the direction towards the point of the horizon where the sun sets at the equinoxes, on the left hand side of a person facing north. 2) the western part of a country, region, or town. 3) (the West) Europe and North… …   English terms dictionary

  • WEST (B.) — WEST BENJAMIN (1738 1820) Peintre américain. Bien que West soit né en Amérique et qu’il y ait appris la «partie mécanique» (selon ses propres termes) de la peinture, son œuvre est entièrement étrangère au développement de l’art américain. Au… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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