American Heritage Dictionary Entry: orient HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key. Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window. guide to the dictionary THE USAGE PANEL The Usage Panel is a group of nearly 200 prominent scholars, creative writers, journalists, diplomats, and others in occupations requiring mastery of language. Annual surveys have gauged the acceptability of particular usages and grammatical constructions. The Panelists NEED HELP SOLVING A CROSSWORD PUZZLE? Go to our Crossword Puzzle Solver and type in the letters that you know, and the Solver will produce a list of possible solutions. -- AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP The new American Heritage Dictionary app is now available for iOS and Android. THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG The articles in our blog examine new words, revised definitions, interesting images from the fifth edition, discussions of usage, and more. OPEN DICTIONARY PROJECT Share your ideas for new words and new meanings of old words! Start Sharing Now! -- See word lists from the best-selling 100 Words Series! Find out more! INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES? Check out the Dictionary Society of North America at http://www.dictionarysociety.com o·ri·ent (ôrē-ənt, -ĕnt′) Share: Tweet n. 1. Orient The countries of Asia, especially of eastern Asia. 2. a. The luster characteristic of a pearl of high quality. b. A pearl having exceptional luster. 3. Archaic The place on the horizon where the sun rises; the east. adj. 1. Having exceptional luster: orient gemstones. 2. Archaic Eastern; oriental. tr.v. (ôrē-ĕnt′) or·i·ent·ed, or·i·ent·ing, or·i·ents 1. a. To align or position in a particular direction or in a particular relation to the points of the compass: orient the swimming pool north and south; oriented the telescope toward the moon. b. To build (a church) with the nave laid out in an east-west direction and the main altar usually at the eastern end. 2. To determine the bearings of (oneself); cause (one) to know one's position in relation to the surroundings: oriented himself by the neon sign on top of the building. 3. To make familiar with a new situation: events to help students get oriented to life on campus. 4. To provide with a primary purpose or focus of attention: a medical system that is oriented toward the prevention of disease. [Middle English, from Old French, from Latin oriēns, orient-, rising sun, east, from present participle of orīrī, to arise, be born; see er-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved. Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices: Indo-European Roots Semitic Roots The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. 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