Orientalism

[ awr-ee-en-tl-iz-uhm, ohr- ]

noun

, (often lowercase)

1. a peculiarity or idiosyncrasy of the peoples of Asia, especially the East.
2. the character or characteristics of the peoples of Asia, especially the East.
3. the knowledge and study of Asian, especially Eastern languages, literature, etc.

Orientalism

/ ˌɔːrɪˈɛntəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. knowledge of or devotion to the Orient
2. an Oriental quality, style, or trait

Derived Forms

• ˌOriˈentalist, noun
• ˌOriˌentalˈistic, adjective

Other Words From

• Ori·ental·ist noun
• anti-Ori·ental·ism noun
• anti-Ori·ental·ist noun adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Orientalism¹

First recorded in 1760–70; oriental none + -ism none

Example Sentences

The last section, “Orientalism,” is exquisite and gilded, with golden-hued floral wallpaper.

From The Daily Beast

To the study of Edward Said, her father, whose book Orientalism remains the treatise for Western misconceptions about the East.

From The Daily Beast

Brad Gooch on how the ghost of Edward Said's 'Orientalism' haunts the work.

From The Daily Beast

Orientalism was the equivalent of an academic beach book during in the summer of 1979—a “cult bible,” says Warner.

From The Daily Beast

Suffused with the Slavonic spirit and its tincture of Orientalism, the importation assumed a character of its own.

From Project Gutenberg

The savagery as well as the orientalism of the Russians comes out in a curious way in their ecclesiastical architecture.

From Project Gutenberg

One would think that the way to obtain patronage of a person would be to praise him, but this would be considered an orientalism.

From Project Gutenberg

As a philosopher he is to be classed among the Platonists, yet with a predominance of the prevailing Orientalism.

From Project Gutenberg

In all these views of Plotinus the tincture of Orientalism predominates; the principles and practices are altogether Indian.

From Project Gutenberg