orient

1. (dated, poetic, also figuratively) Rising, like the morning sun.Examples: "Moon, that now meetſt the orient sun, now fli'ſt / With the fixt Starrs, fixt in thir Orb that flies, [...]"alsodatedfigurativelynot-comparablepoetic

2. (dated, poetic) Of the colour of the sky at daybreak; bright in colour, from red to yellow.Examples: "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 glow of the marigold."Synonyms: Orient reddatednot-comparablepoetic

3. (obsolete except poetic) Of, facing, or located in the east; eastern, oriental.Examples: "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 lines it is deſcribed & figured."Antonyms: occidentalnot-comparable

4. (obsolete except poetic) Of a pearl or other gem: of great brilliance and value; (by extension) bright, lustrous.Examples: "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."; "[...] 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, [...]"; "The liquid drops of Teares that you have ſhed, Shall come againe, transform'd to Orient Pearle, [...]"Synonyms: aglow, alight, beamful, beamsome, beamy, brilliant, effulgent, glowingnot-comparable

1. (transitive) To build or place (something) so as to face eastward.Examples: "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 interment, also of Romans or Romanised Britons, resembled the first in being more or less perfectly oriented, the orientation varying, probably according as it had taken place in summer or in winter, from E.N.E. to E.S.E. over about 45°; [...]"USoftentransitive

2. (transitive, by extension) 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.Examples: "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."; "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.)."Synonyms: orientateUSbroadlyoftentransitive

3. (transitive) To direct towards or point at a particular direction.Examples: "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."; "When a substance is placed in an electric field, the molecules tend to orient themselves in a definite pattern with respect to the direction of the field. The dielectric constant of the material can, for simplicity, be defined as a measure of the degree to which the individual particles are oriented or the material polarized."Synonyms: orientateUSoftentransitive

4. (transitive, reflexive) To determine which direction one is facing.Examples: "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 the power and the wisdom and the blessedness, with which God has filled and lighted up this resplendent universe, shall all be yours!"; "The two stars, one at the Pole and the other at the Equator, were essential to both orienting and dating the structure. Hence the conclusion that the Great Pyramid could not have accomplished its design as a monumental witnessing pillar at any other time, and that the only time when the aid indispensable was possible was B.C. 2170."USoftenreflexivetransitive

5. (transitive, often reflexive, figuratively) To familiarize (oneself or someone) with a circumstance or situation.Examples: "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."; "Computer Systems Analyst II [...] Determines and resolves data processing problems and coordinates the work with program, users, etc.; orients user personnel on new or changed procedures."Synonyms: orientateAntonyms: disorient, disorientateUSfigurativelyoftenreflexivetransitive

6. (transitive, figuratively) To set the focus of (something) so as to appeal or relate to a certain group.Examples: "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 activities."USfigurativelyoftentransitive

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