**West Country, the**                                                                 1566 the environment, and are known for eating HEALTH FOODS,
exercising a lot, and complaining about people who smoke.
**'West ,Country, the** the southwest of England, thought of especially as a place where people go for holidays
**,West 'End, the** the western part of central London, which
is London's main shopping and entertainment centre, with many large stores, cinemas and theatres, and hotels and restaurants: *a West End show*
**west-er-ly** /'westəli||-ərli/ *adj* **1** towards or in the west: *We
set off in a westerly direction.* **2** (of a wind) coming from the west: *a light westerly breeze*
**west-ern^1** /'westən||-ərn/ *adj* [no comp.] (often *cap.*) of or
belonging to the west part of the world or of a country: *The Russian ballet is making a tour of Western Europe. | Western values* $\rightarrow$ see NORTH (USAGE)
**western^2 also cowboy film** *BrE ||* **also cowboy movie** *AmE*— *n* (often *cap.*) a film about life in the American WEST in the past $\rightarrow$ see WILD WEST; see also COUNTRY AND WESTERN
CULTURAL NOTE Western films often include GUNFIGHTS between good COWBOYS, or SHERIFFS and bad cowboys
who rob people, trains, or banks, and who CHEAT when
playing cards and drink too much alcohol. The good cowboys often wear white hats, and the bad cowboys
wear black hats. At the end of the film, the good cowboys win, making the town safe again. Most western films are
not based on the facts of what living in the American west
was like. Instead, they show things in the way people imagine they were.
**,Western Aus'tralia** the largest state of Australia, in the
west of the country, whose capital is Perth $\rightarrow$ *see picture at* AUSTRALIA
**,Western 'Conference, the** a group of professional BAS-KETBALL teams from the western part of the US, which play against one another. Together with the EASTERN CONFER-
ENCE, a similar group from the eastern US, these teams form the NBA (=National Basketball Association).
**West-ern-er** /'westənəʳ||-tər-/ *n* [C] **1** someone who lives
in or comes from the western part of the world **2** *AmE* someone who lives in or comes from the western part of the US
**,Western 'Front, the** an area in northern France and
Belgium where many battles of World War I were fought. The armies of the ALLIES (=Britain, France etc) and of Germany were based in TRENCHES (=long, deep holes in the ground)
and suffered terrible conditions and great loss of life. $\rightarrow$ see also WORLD WAR I
**,Western 'Isles, the** a REGION in northwest Scotland
consisting of the Outer Hebrides islands of Harris, Lewis, North and South Uist, and Barra. Its main town is Storno-way.
**west-ern-ize also -ise** *BrE* /'westənaɪz||-ər-/ *v* [T] to cause
or influence (especially African or Asian people and coun-tries) to have or copy the customs and behaviour typical of America and Europe: *Although she's a Muslim, she's very
westernized in her dress.* **—ization** /ˌwestənaɪ'zeɪʃən||-ərnə- / *n* [U]
**,Western 'medicine** *n* [U] the science and practice of
medicine that is standard in the West $\rightarrow$ compare ALTER-NATIVE MEDICINE
**west-ern-most** /'westənməʊst||-tərn-/ *adj* [no comp.] fur-thest west: *the westernmost parts of Scotland*
**,Western Sa'hara** an area of northwestern Africa that used
to be a Spanish COLONY. Morocco took control of the Western Sahara in 1975. The Polisario, an army and political move-ment consisting of members of the Saharawi people, fought a war with Morocco for control of the land. This war ended in
an agreement to stop fighting in 1991 but the two sides still do not agree about who should control the area.
**,West 'Germany also the Federal Republic of Ger-
many** a former country in western Europe, between France
and East Germany, whose capital city was Bonn. In 1949 Germany was split into two countries: the western part became West Germany or the Federal Republic of Germany, and the eastern part became EAST GERMANY or the GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, a communist country. The two coun-
tries joined together again in 1990 to become Germany, after
the fall of the BERLIN WALL. **—West German** *n, adj***West Gla-mor-gan** /ˌwest ɡlə'mɔːɡən||-ɔːr-/ a former
COUNTY in South Wales which included the city of Swansea.
In 1996 it was divided into two new local government areas:
the county of Swansea and the county BOROUGH of Neath Port Talbot.
**,West 'Ham** a British football club from east London, officially called 'West Ham United' and informally called'the Hammers'
**West-hei-mer, Doctor Ruth** /'westhaɪməʳ/ $\rightarrow$ see DOC-TOR RUTH
**,West 'Indian** *adj* from or connected with the West Indies:*West Indian cooking* —**West Indian** *n*
**West In-dies, the** /ˌwest 'ɪndiz/ **1** the islands of the
Caribbean Sea, between the southeast of the US and the north of South America, including the Bahamas, Cuba,
Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Barbados, and Dominica **2** an inter-
national CRICKET team made up of players from the islands of the West Indies that formerly belonged to the UK
**West-ing-house** /'westɪŋhaʊs/ trademark a large US com-pany that makes many types of electrical product, such as REFRIGERATORS
**West-life** /'westlaɪf/ an extremely successful pop group from the Republic of Ireland which was made up of five
young men who were all considered to be very attractive. They stopped working together in 2004.
**West-min-ster** /'westmɪnstəʳ, west'mɪnstəʳ/ also **the City of Westminster 1** a BOROUGH (=a part of a city)
which is responsible for managing its own schools, roads etc) which contains a large part of west central London, including WESTMINSTER ABBEY, the HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT
and BUCKINGHAM PALACE **2** the British HOUSES OF PARLIA-MENT: *Westminster was buzzing with anticipation today as
MPs gathered for tonight's crucial vote.* $\rightarrow$ see also PALACE OF WESTMINSTER
**,Westminster 'Abbey** a                                          Westminster Abbey
very large GOTHIC church in Westminster, London, first built in the 11th century. Almost all British kings and
queens since WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR have been
crowned (CROWN) in the Abbey and many famous
people are buried there. $\rightarrow$ see also POETS' CORNER
**,Westminster Ca'thedral**
the main Roman Catholic church in England and
Wales, famous especially for its BYZANTINE design and sta-tions of the Cross
**,West 'Point** the usual name
for the United States Military Academy, at West Point in
New York, next to the Hudson River. West Point is the oldest military college in the US, where students earn a university degree while they are trained to become army officers. It is
greatly respected, and many famous US military leaders and presidents attended West Point.
**,West Side 'Story** a MUSICAL (=a play that uses singing and
dancing to tell a story) by Leonard BERNSTEIN, based on the play ROMEO AND JULIET by William SHAKESPEARE, in which a
boy and a girl in New York City fall in love, although they come from different GANGS one of which consists of Puerto
Rican people. The original stage musical, produced in 1957, was made into a successful film in 1961.
**,West 'Sussex** a COUNTY in southern England
**,West Vir'ginia** *written abbrev.* **WV** a state in the eastern central US, that has many mountains. Its capital and largest
city is Charleston, and its industries include coal, steel, and farming.
**west-ward** /'westwəd||-wərd/ *adj* going towards the west:*westward journey | in a westward direction*
