Oriental

See also: oriental

English

Alternative forms

• oriental

Etymology

From Middle English oriental, from Anglo-Norman oriental, Middle French oriental, from Latin orientālis (“eastern”), from oriēns (“rising (of the Sun)”), present active participle of orior (“I rise”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɔːɹiˈɛntəl/, /ɒɹiˈɛntəl/
• Rhymes: -ɛntəl

Adjective

Oriental (comparative more Oriental, superlative most Oriental)

1. Of a pearl or other precious stone: having a superior lustre. [from 14th c.]
2. (astronomy, astrology) Pertaining to the eastern part of the sky; happening before sunrise. [from 14th c.]
3. (obsolete) Happening in the eastern part of a given place or location. [15th–19th c.]
4. Pertaining to the regions east of the Mediterranean, beyond the Roman Empire or the early Christian world; of the Near East, the Middle East or the Far East, now especially relating to East Asia. [from 15th c.]
5. Designating various types of aromatic tobacco grown in Turkey and the Balkans. [from 19th c.]

Derived terms

• AADAOPA
• Oriental carpet
• Oriental darter
• Oriental fruit moth
• Orientalism, orientalism
• Orientalist, orientalist
• orientality
• Orientalize/Orientalise, orientalize/orientalise
• Oriental poppy
• Oriental radish, oriental radish
• Oriental Region
• Oriental rug, oriental rug
• Oriental stork
• Oriental tobacco
• oriental tongue
• oriental turquoise

 

Related terms

• orientate
• orientally
• orientational

Translations

of or relating to the Orient or Asia, especially the Far East

• Arabic: شَرْقِيّ (šarqiyy)
• Armenian: արևելյան (hy) (arewelyan)
• Bulgarian: източен (bg) (iztočen), ориенталски (orientalski)
• Catalan: oriental (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 東方／东方 (zh) (dōngfāng)

• Dutch: oriëntaal (nl), oosters (nl)
• Finnish: itämainen (fi), orientaalinen (fi)
• French: oriental (fr) m
• Galician: oriental (gl)
• German: orientalisch (de)
• Greek: ασιατικός (el) m (asiatikós)
• Hungarian: keleti (hu)
• Italian: orientale (it)
• Japanese: 東洋の (ja) (とうようの, tōyō no), 東方 (ja) (とうほうの, tōhō no)
• Malay: Timur, ketimuran (ms)
• Polish: orientalny (pl)
• Portuguese: oriental (pt)
• Russian: восто́чный (ru) (vostóčnyj)
• Turkish: doğu (tr), oryantal (tr), şarki (tr)

Noun

Oriental (plural Orientals)

1. A precious stone, especially an orient pearl. [from 14th c.]
2. A member or descendant of the peoples and cultures of the Orient. [from 15th c.]
3. A lily cultivar of a widely varied group, with strong scent.
4. (archaic) A person from the eastern region of a place. [15th–19th c.]
   • 1848, National anthem of Uruguay

     Orientals, the Fatherland or the grave, Liberty or with glory we die!

Usage notes

• Use of the term Oriental to describe a person is considered dated and potentially offensive in North America.

Synonyms

See Thesaurus:Asian

Translations

person

• Bulgarian: ориенталец m (orientalec)
• Catalan: oriental (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 東方人／东方人 (zh) (dōngfāngrén)

• Dutch: Oosterling m
• Finnish: itämaalainen
• French: Oriental (fr) m
• Galician: oriental (gl)
• German: Ostler (de) m, Ostlerin (de) f, Orientale (de) m, Orientalin (de) f
• Greek: ανατολίτης (el) m (anatolítis), Ασιάτης (el) m (Asiátis)
• Malay: orang Timur
• Navajo: Binááʼádaałtsʼózí dineʼé
• Portuguese: oriental (pt) m or f
• Russian: жи́тель Восто́ка m (žítelʹ Vostóka), жи́тельница Восто́ка f (žítelʹnica Vostóka) (inhabitant), уроже́нец Восто́ка m (urožénec Vostóka), уроже́нка Восто́ка f (urožénka Vostóka)
• Turkish: doğulu (tr), şarklı (tr)

See also

• austral
• boreal
• Asia
• Asiatic
• East Asia
• Far East
• Middle East
• Occident
• occidental
• Persia
• Persian rug

Anagrams

• Tirolean, relation, taileron, tenorial

Dutch

Noun

Oriental m (plural Orientals)

1. An Oriental lily