WEST BY NORTH • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of West by north

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/wɛst baɪ nɔrθ/ Listen

noun

West n.

The point in the heavens where the sun is seen to set at the equinox; or, the corresponding point on the earth; that one of the four cardinal points of the compass which is in a direction at right angles to that of north and south, and on the left hand of a person facing north; the point directly opposite to east. "And fresh from the west is the free wind's breath."

A country, or region of country, which, with regard to some other country or region, is situated in the direction toward the west.

Specifically:

(a)

The Westen hemisphere, or the New World so called, it having been discovered by sailing westward from Europe; the Occident.

(b)

(U. S. Hist. & Geog.) Formerly, that part of the United States west of the Alleghany mountains; now, commonly, the whole region west of the Mississippi river; esp., that part which is north of the Indian Territory, New Mexico, etc. Usually with the definite article.

West by north, West by south, according to the notation of the mariner's compass, that point which lies 11¼° to the north or south, respectively, of the point due west.

West northwest, West southwest, that point which lies 22½° to the north or south of west, or halfway between west and northwest or southwest, respectively.

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Etymology of 'West by north'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"West by north" Quotes from Famous Books

... position as 55 degrees 58 minutes South, 67 degrees 16 minutes West. Three days after they reached their furthest south, according to Cook 60 degrees 4 minutes South, 74 degrees 10 West, and the course was then altered to West by North. The continuous and careful observations of the state of the sea, and the absence of currents during the following month, caused Cook to come to the conclusion that the vast southern continent so long supposed to exist somewhere in that part of the globe, and by some people esteemed necessary ...

— The Life of Captain James Cook • Arthur Kitson