westing

American  

[wes-ting] / ˈwɛs tɪŋ /

noun

1. Navigation. the distance due west made good on any course tending westward; westerly departure.

2. Surveying. a distance west from a north-south reference line.

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westing British  

/ ˈwɛstɪŋ /

noun

1. nautical movement, deviation, or distance covered in a westerly direction, esp as expressed in the resulting difference in longitude

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Etymology

Origin of westing

First recorded in 1620–30; west + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

West of the Rockies is out-of-bounds for U. S. fireflies�either because the mountains are too high for westing wanderers to get over, or because the Pacific Coast climate does not suit them.

From Time Magazine Archive

The sun was already westing toward evening, and the trees where they were had plunged them into a partial dude.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Having taken on board what we required, we weighed our anchors and made sail, taking our way across the vast ocean towards the Antarctic Pole, with some westing.

From The Letters of Amerigo Vespucci and other documents illustrative of his career by Casas, Bartolom? de las

Likewise, if the ship is moving westward, an allowance must be made for the westing of the ship.

From Lectures in Navigation by Draper, Ernest Gallaudet

The breeze, which was off-shore, was gentle from the north-west, westing, and the sky was deep blue, with a haze hanging about, indicative of heat in the future hours.

From In the Yellow Sea by Frith, Henry