quarter windn.
/ˈkwɔːtə wɪnd/, U.S. /ˈkwɔrdər ˌwɪnd/ 1. A wind from one of the cardinal points. Also: a wind from one of the quarter points (quarter point n. at quarter n. Compounds 4).
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the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [noun] > wind with reference to direction > wind from a cardinal point
headwindOE
cardinal winda1398
quarter winda1450
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 114 (MED) Þe..est wynde..haþ tweie side wyndes or quarter wyndes; þe oon is þe Est north est wynde on þe right side, & on his liftside he haþ þe est south est wynde.
1561 R. Eden tr. M. Cortés Arte Nauigation iii. i. sig. G.vii Besyde these halfe wyndes, they haue other whiche they call quarter wyndes. These take the name of the wyndes to the whiche they declyne.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes A quarter winde of the compasse.
a1703 R. Hooke Lect. Navigation & Astron. in Posthumous Wks. (1705) 470 The eight Points in the middle of these are the Quarter Winds, viz. NNE. ENE. ESE. SSE. SSW. WSW. WNW. NNW.
1915 Geogr. Jrnl. 45 443 According to Crescentio, the addition of the eight half-winds and the sixteen quarter-winds to the original eight was due to the people of Amalfi.
1931 Geogr. Jrnl. 78 351 The ‘quarter winds’ are thus named in the Manuals, N.¼N.E. being equivalent to North and by East.
1951 Imago Mundi 8 24 The Munich sheet is the only one of group B to add to the four-point system of the magnetic needle another four-point cross of the quarter-winds.
2006 Evening Standard (Palmerston North, N.Z.) (Nexis) 4 Aug. 6 The month was characterised by days of easterly and southerly quarter winds.
2. A wind blowing on a vessel's quarter (quarter n. 24a). Also occasionally in the context of an aircraft.
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the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [noun] > wind as means of propulsion > other
topsail1390
side winda1398
quarter wind1523
quartern wind1592
elbow-winda1722
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xlix. f. xxx Whan the kyng and his marshals had ordered his batayls he brewe vp the seales and cam with a quarter wynde to haue the vauntage of the sonne.
1591 R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Aorça With a quarter winde.
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. vii. 32 Few ships will steare vpon quarter winds with one saile.
1692 Smith's Sea-mans Gram. (new ed.) i. xvi. 80 Quarter Winds, are when the Wind comes in abaft the main-mast-shrouds even with the Quarter.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Quarter The Quarter Wind is the best of all Winds, as bearing into all the Sails.
1752 Life Patty Saunders 107 So we made all the Sail we could forward, with a Quarter-Wind.
1786 tr. Mem. French Officer 5 Having a quarter-wind, the vessel stood against the wind.
1832 J. Lawson Giordano iii. i. 52 He boldly spurred the gallant steed, and, fleetly As a proud ship impelled by quarter winds, He onward rode.
1862 N. Macleod Old Lieutenant & his Son I. xi. 116 The ‘John’ was bowling along with a fine quarter wind, every sail set.
1935 Oshkosh (Wisconsin) Northwestern 24 Aug. 12/1 Shadow II drew the attention of the gallery by excellent spinnaker sailing on quarter wind.
1990 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) (Nexis) 1 June d6 Brown, however, overcame a pesky quarterwind just a little better to nip SU in an opening heat of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Regatta on Onondaga Lake.
1996 Mountain Democrat (Placerville, Calif.) 29 Mar. a13/5 Downdrafts, updrafts and crosscutting quarter winds may push a helicopter to the edge of a tree lot.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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