Other forms: orients
The Orient is the countries of the Far East, in older use. Travel to the Orient, the mysterious Orient, the Orient Express.
It is dated and now largely avoided, because it lumps enormously different places together and defines them all by being east of Europe. As a verb, to orient yourself is to work out which way you are facing, and that sense is alive and neutral.
1nounorientThe countries of the Far East, in older use.
“In the old days, merchant ships returned from the Orient loaded with silk and tea.”
orient is a region.
Latin oriens means the rising, from oriri, to rise — the direction of the rising sun.
Proto-Indo-European
*h₃er- — to move, stir; to rise, spring
Latin
oriēns — the east; daybreak, dawn; sunrise; (participle) rising; appearing; originating
Old French
orient — east direction; Asia, Orient
Anglo-Norman
orient
Middle English
orient
English, today
orient
Built from
The noun is derived from Middle English orient, oriente, oryent, oryente, oryentte (“the east direction; eastern horizon or sky; eastern regions of the world, Asia, Orient; eastern edge of the world”), borrowed from Anglo-Norman orient, oriente, and Old French orient (“east direction; Asia, Orient”) (modern French orient), or directly from its etymon Latin oriēns (“the east; daybreak, dawn; sunrise; (participle) rising; appearing; originating”), present active participle of orior (“to get up, rise; to appear, become visible; to be born, come to exist, originate”), from Proto-Indo-European h₃er- (“to move, stir; to rise, spring”). The adjective is derived from Middle English orient (“eastern; from Asia or the Orient; brilliant, shining (characteristic of jewels from the Orient)”), from Middle English orient; see above.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA