entry
orient
/ˈɔːriənt/East; to position or guide by direction
From Latin ori- (To rise).
from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”). The adjective is derived
from Old French orient "east" (11c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French orient "east" (11c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French orient "east" (11c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French orient "east" (11c.)
+1 more sourceWord Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *h₃er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”). The adjective is derived
from Old French orient "east" (11c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French orient "east" (11c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French orient "east" (11c.)
+1 more sourcefrom Old French orient "east" (11c.)
+1 more sourceAt dawn, the sun did not merely appear to Latin speakers—it “rose,” and that rising was orior. Its present participle, oriēns, became a noun for the sunrise and then for the quarter of the sky where the sun rose: the east. Medieval French handed orient to English, where it could describe not only eastern lands but also a pearl’s glowing surface, because luxury goods arriving from the East seemed to carry sunrise in miniature. The opposite term, occident, comes from Latin occidēns, “falling,” as in the setting sun; east and west were once imagined as two cosmic verbs. And when the Orient Express began running from Paris to Istanbul in 1883, the old directional word acquired a glamorous new life of velvet compartments, spies, and intrigue. Remember it this way: to orient yourself is literally to find the sunrise.
The Story
At dawn, the sun did not merely appear to Latin speakers—it “rose,” and that rising was orior. Its present participle, oriēns, became a noun for the sunrise and then for the quarter of the sky where the sun rose: the east. Medieval French handed orient to English, where it could describe not only eastern lands but also a pearl’s glowing surface, because luxury goods arriving from the East seemed to carry sunrise in miniature. The opposite term, occident, comes from Latin occidēns, “falling,” as in the setting sun; east and west were once imagined as two cosmic verbs. And when the Orient Express began running from Paris to Istanbul in 1883, the old directional word acquired a glamorous new life of velvet compartments, spies, and intrigue. Remember it this way: to orient yourself is literally to find the sunrise.
Modern Usage
Informally, something run-down or useless; also used colloquially for orientate.
Notable References
- The Orient Express
Kin & Kindred
From 'ori-'·To rise, appear, or come into being; especially the rising sun
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia
Wiktionary