easter

From Old English eastera, eastra. Compare norther, souther, wester.

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈiː.stə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈi.stəɹ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːstə(ɹ)

easter (comparative more easter, superlative most easter)

1. (now dialectal) Eastern. [from 8th c.]
   • 1824, James Hogg, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Oxford, published 2010, page 57:

     In the mean while, as our apartment was a corner one, and looked both east and north, I ran to the easter casement to look after Drummond.

   • 1828, The Picture of Scotland, page 187:

     This is properly two, if not three towns — there being an Easter Anstruther and a Wester Anstruther, both burghs, besides a large fishing village […]

   • 1885, Alex Johnston Warden, Angus Or Forfarshire: The Land and People, Descriptive and Historical, page 204:

     There had been a Little and a Meikle, and an Easter and a Wester Coull two centuries ago; and there had been a castle on the property […]

   • 1887, Walter Wood, The East Neuk of Fife: Its History and Antiquities, page 118:

     It is styled, as we have seen, Wester Rires, which implies an Easter Rires; and this last portion of it probably lay to the north-east, and included  […]

   • 2011, J.I.M. Stewart, Mungo's Dream, House of Stratus, →ISBN, page 219:

     'The fact remains that there is an Easter Fintry and a Wester Fintry in this part of the world. Just as there is an Easter Golford and a Wester Golford, ...

2. comparative form of east: more east

• easterly
• Easter Ross

• wester
• down-easter

easter (plural easters)

1. A strong easterly wind (a wind blowing from the east).
   • 1902, John Burroughs, Locusts and Wild Honey, page 81:

     A northeaster in one place may be an easter, a norther, or a souther in some other locality.

easter (third-person singular simple present easters, present participle eastering, simple past and past participle eastered)

1. To move toward the east.
   • 1871, Hunt's Yachting Magazine, page 265:

     Off Tilbury the Alcyone's topsail-yard was carried away just forward of the slings; she set a jib-headed one; at Thames Haven the wind eastered ...

   • 1940(?), Thomas Allen, The Journals of Sir Thomas Allin, 1660-1678:

     At 5 the wind eastered and came E. by N., that we went 2 knots […] .

• “easter”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC.

• teares, eaters, Eastre, teresa, Teresa, asteer, saeter, reseat, teaser, Teares, aretes, steare, seater, arsete, ratees, Trease, arêtes, Seater, sæter, earset, Taseer, staree