[f. WESTERN a. + -ER.]
1. An inhabitant or native of the Western States of America.
1837. Ht. Martineau, Soc. Amer., III. 21. We are apt to think, said a westerner to me, that we are just as great and good.
1872. Howells, Wedd. Journ. (1892), 196. Those expressions of surprise at the existence of civilisation in a westerner which westerners find it so hard to receive graciously.
1888. Century Mag., Feb., 502/2. Cowboys, like most Westerners, occasionally show remarkable versatility in their tastes and pursuits.
2. One belonging to a western race, as distinguished from an Oriental.
1910. Times, 5 March, 6/1. The crowd crushing at the window at Peking clamouring for tickets is a spectacle which affords constant amusement to the Westerner.
1919. Rihbany, Syrian Christ, 146. Some Westerners have an exaggerated idea of Oriental generosity.
3. One who lives in, or is a native of, the west part of a country.
1905. Daily News, 24 April, 2. The Westerners [Gloucester and Bristol ringers] hope to eclipse this performance with a peal containing 12,345 changes.