orient

Proper noun (1)

orient

1. Usually preceded by the: alternative letter-case form of Orient (“a region or a part of the world to the east of a certain place; countries of Asia, the East (especially East Asia)”)
   • I, from the orient to the drooping weſt, / Making the wind my poſthorſe, ſtill unfold / The acts commenced on this ball of earth: […]c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, “King Henry IV. Part II.”, in The Plays of William Shakespeare, volume IX, London: Printed for T[homas] Longman [et al.], published 1793, →OCLC, act I, induction...
   • God planted Paradise in Eden, in the orients; and placed there the man whom he had formed.1834, “St. Basil’s Homily on Paradise”, in Hugh Stuart Boyd, transl., The Fathers not Papists: Or, Six Discourses by the Most Eloquent Fathers of the Church: […] Translated from the Greek, new...

   Synonyms:

   East

   Antonyms:

   occident, ponent, West

Noun (1)

orient (plural orients)

1. The part of the horizon where the sun first appears in the morning; the east.
   • Loe in the Orient when the gracious light,
     Lifts vp his burning head, each vnder eye
     Doth homage to his new appearing ſight, [...]1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 7”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC
   • Morn in the white wake of the morning star / Came furrowing all the orient into gold.1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Part III”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 47
2. (obsolete) A pearl originating from the Indian region, reputed to be of great brilliance; (by extension) any pearl of particular beauty and value.
   • The chambers of the East are opened in every land, and the sun comes forth to sow the earth with orient pearl.1825, James Anthony Froude, quoting Thomas Carlyle, “a.d. 1825. æt. 30.”, in Thomas Carlyle: A History of the First Forty Years of His Life, 1795–1835 … Two Volumes in One (Harper’s Franklin Square...
   • It is indeed an 'extensive Volume,' of boundless, almost formless contents, a very Sea of Thought; neither calm nor clear, if you will; yet wherein the toughest pearl-diver may dive to his utmost depth, and return not only with sea-wreck but with true orients.1831, Thomas Carlyle, “Editorial Difficulties”, in Sartor Resartus: The Life and Opinions of Herr Teufelsdröckh. […], London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC, 1st book, page 5
3. (broadly) The brilliance or colour of a high-quality pearl.

Adjective

orient (not comparable)

1. (also, dated, figuratively, poetic) Rising, like the morning sun.
   • Moon, that now meetſt the orient sun, now fli'ſt / With the fixt Starrs, fixt in thir Orb that flies, [...]1667, John Milton, “Book V”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
2. (dated, poetic) Of the colour of the sky at daybreak; bright in colour, from red to yellow.
   • Then, I do so like the one or two principal walks, neatly edged with box, cut with most precise regularity, keeping guard over favourite plants:—columbines, bending on their slender stems; rose-bushes, covered with buds enough to furnish roses for months; pinks, with their dark eyes; and the orient...1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XXVI, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 278

   Synonyms:

   Orient red

3. (obsolete except poetic) Of, facing, or located in the east; eastern, oriental.
   • To ſhewe that though this figure of the worlde in playne or flat ſeemeth to haue an ende, yet one imagining that this ſayde carde were ſet vpon a round thing, where the endes ſhoulde touche by the lines, it would plainely appeare howe the Orient part ioyneth with the Occident, as there without the...1527, Robert Thorne, “The Booke Made by the Right Worshipfull Master Robert Thorne in the Yeere 1527. in Siuill to Doctourley, Lorde Ambassadour for King Henrie the Eight to Charles the Emperour...

   Antonyms:

   occidental

4. (obsolete except poetic) Of a pearl or other gem: of great brilliance and value; (by extension) bright, lustrous.
   • Thinges to be carried with you, whereof more or leſſe is to be caried for a ſhewe of our commodities to bee made. Kerſies of all orient coulours, ſpecially of ſtamel [a fine worsted], brodecloth of orient colours alſo.1580, R[ichard] H[akluyt], compiler, “Notes in Writing besides More Priuie by Mouth that were Giuen by a Gentleman, Anno. 1580. to M. Arthure Pette and to M. Charles Iackman, Sent by the Marchants of...
   • [...] He gaue me a rope of the ſame Pearle, but they were blacke, and naught, yet many of them were very great, and a fewe amongſt a number very orient and round, [...]1589, Ralph Lane, “An Account of the Peculiarities of the Imployments of the English Men Left in Virginia by Sir Richard Greeneuill vnder the Charge of Master Ralfe Lane General of the same, from the...

   Synonyms:

   aglow, alight, beamful, beamsome, beamy, brilliant, effulgent, glowing, illuminating, lambent

Verb

UK/ˈɔː.ɹɪˌɛnt/US/ˈɔɹ.iˌɛnt/

orient (third-person singular simple present orients, present participle orienting, simple past and past participle oriented)

1. (US, often, transitive) To build or place (something) so as to face eastward.
   • The first kind of interment was that of leaden coffins, rectangular in shape, covered with a lid, occupying deeper graves than any of the other interments, more or less accurately oriented, sometimes containing coins, as of the Emperor Gratian (ob. 383), and sometimes not. [...] The second type of...1868 August 25, George Rolleston, “On the Modes of Sepulture Observable in Late Romano-British and Early Anglo-Saxon Times in This Country”, in International Congress of Prehistoric Archæology...
2. (US, broadly, often, transitive) To align or place (a person or object) so that his, her, or its east side, north side, etc., is positioned toward the corresponding points of the compass; (specifically, surveying) to rotate (a map attached to a plane table) until the line of direction between any two of its points is parallel to the corresponding direction in nature.
   • Without a compass the table is oriented, when set at one end of a line previously determined, by sighting back on this line, [...]. To orient the table, when at a station unconnected with others, is more difficult.1855, W. M. Gillespie, “Part VIII. Plane Table Surveying.”, in A Treatise on Land-surveying: […], New York, N.Y.; London: D. Appleton & Co., […], →OCLC, paragraph 456 (To Orient the Table), page 309
   • He orients his photo-scale protractor over the intersection of the base line and compass line extended, by means of the bearing of base line AB (S. 32° W.) and reads bearing of compass line RP to 7 (N. 80° W.).1963, Karl E. Moessner, Accuracy of Ground Point Location from Aerial Photographs (U.S. Forest Service Research Note; INT-5), Ogden, Ut.: Intermountain Forest & Range Experiment Station, Forest...

   Synonyms:

   orientate

3. (US, often, transitive) To direct towards or point at a particular direction.
   • The workers oriented all the signs to face the road.
   • The present methods of manufacture of fiber boards tend to orient the fibers so that they are most effective for insulation.1931 December 1, C[harles] G. Weber, F[rederick] T. Carson, L[eo] W[illiam] Snyder, “Properties Studied and Test Methods Used”, in Properties of Fiber Building Boards (Miscellaneous Publication...

   Synonyms:

   orientate

4. (US, often, reflexive, transitive) To determine which direction one is facing.
   • Let me just orient myself and we can be on our way.
   • All around your spirit, the universe lies open and free, and you can go where you will. Orient yourself! Orient yourself! [...] [S]tudy and obey the sublime laws on which the frame of nature was constructed; study and obey the sublimer laws on which the soul of man was formed; and the fulness of...1850, Horace Mann, A Few Thoughts for a Young Man: A Lecture, Delivered before the Boston Mercantile Library Association, on Its 29th Anniversary, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC...
5. (US, figuratively, often, reflexive, transitive) To familiarize (oneself or someone) with a circumstance or situation.
   • Give him time to orient himself within the new hierarchy.
   • Thus the thought-world is a symbol, or system of symbols, which serves the organic beings of the real world for orienting themselves in the world of actual being, and is the means whereby they translate the proceedings of this world into the language of the soul.1913, G[eorge] R[obert] S[towe] Mead, “Vaihinger’s Philosophy of the ‘As If’”, in Quests Old and New, London: G[eorge] Bell & Sons, Ltd., →OCLC, page 257

   Synonyms:

   orientate

   Antonyms:

   disorient, disorientate

6. (US, figuratively, often, transitive) To set the focus of (something) so as to appeal or relate to a certain group.
   • We will orient our campaign to the youth who are often disinterested.
   • Whatever the occasion of the public religious observance, whether it was the holding of a temple fair, praying for rain, or celebrating a popular festival, religion came to serve as a symbol of common devotion in bringing people out of their divergent routines and orienting them toward community...1961, C. K. Yang [i.e., Ch’ing-k’un Yang], “Communal Aspects of Popular Cults”, in Religion in Chinese Society: A Study of Contemporary Social Functions of Religion and Some of Their Historical...
7. (US, intransitive, often) To change direction to face a certain way.
   • Observation stations were established at vantage points along the coast to monitor gray whale responses to the sounds generated by the air gun array. [...] At 3 miles some whales appeared to orient toward the sound.1984 February, “Appendix T: Biological Opinion from National Marine Fisheries Service for Proposed Southern California Lease Offering, February 1984”, in EIS: Environmental Impact Statement: Proposed...

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Orient

Orient

1. Usually preceded by the: a region or a part of the world to the east of a certain place; countries of Asia, the East (especially East Asia).

   Antonyms:

   Occident

2. (dated) The countries east of the Mediterranean.

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Orient

Orient

1. A minor city in Denning Township, Franklin County, Illinois.
2. A township and minor city therein, in Adair County, Iowa.
3. A town in Aroostook County, Maine.
4. A township in Osceola County, Michigan.
5. A census-designated place and hamlet in Suffolk County, New York.
6. A census-designated place in Scioto Township, Pickaway County, Ohio.
7. A census-designated place in Multnomah County, Oregon.
8. A small town in Faulk County, South Dakota.
9. An unincorporated community in Tom Green County, Texas.
10. A census-designated place in Ferry County, Washington.
11. A rural locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia.

Noun (2) capitalized: Orient

Orient (plural Orients)

1. A pear cultivar from the United States