westbound

Etymology

It is formed from English west + bound, with bound in its sense "going or heading toward".^[2][3][4] Etymonline and Dictionary.com call it an Americanism, Etymonline adding that it began in railroading,^[3][5] but the OED's first record is from the “Caledonian Mercury” of 29 March 1847.^[2] West is from Old English west, from Proto-Germanic *west-.^[3] The adjective bound is boun (“ready to go”), recorded from about 1200, from Old Norse búinn, the past participle of búa (“to prepare”);^[3][2] the OED explains the final -d partly by association with bound, the past participle of bind.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Heading or travelling west: 1847.^[2][4] The Merriam-Webster Collegiate dates it to 1864, Etymonline to 1866, and Dictionary.com to 1880–85.^[6][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed close to its first sense; the OED records the adverb, "toward the west", from 1888, and a chiefly North American noun, a westbound train, from 1897, in Kipling.^[2] In American railroad accounting it was used of freight cars headed west or south.^[4]

Timeline

• 1847 – adjective, travelling or directed west.^[2][4]
• 1888 – adverb, toward the west.^[2]
• 1897 – noun, a westbound train, in Kipling.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Travelling, heading or leading toward the west: the westbound carriageway was closed for repairs.^[7][4][2]
2. In American railroad accounting, of freight cars: headed west or south.^[4]

Adverb

1. Toward the west; in a westerly direction.^[2][1]

Noun

1. (chiefly North America) A westbound train.^[2]

Related words

• eastbound
• northbound
• southbound
• outbound
• westward

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins