oriental

[awr-ee-en-tl]

adjective

1. Usually Oriental

   1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Orient or the East, typically East Asia; Eastern.

      The living room had a gorgeous Oriental rug.

      In the late 1950s, the university began offering degrees in Oriental philosophy.

   2. Older Use: Often Disparaging and Offensive.,  (of a person or group of people) being from the East, typically East Asia; Asian.

2. of the orient, or the eastern region of the world or heavens: stars in the oriental sky.

   oriental countries;

   stars in the oriental sky.

3. Zoogeography.,  Oriental, belonging to a geographical division comprising southern Asia and the Malay Archipelago as far as and including the Philippines, Borneo, and Java.

   This genera has twelve Oriental species, and two Australian ones.

4. Jewelry.,  Also Oriental

   1. designating various gems that are varieties of corundum.

      oriental aquamarine;

      oriental ruby.

   2. fine or precious; orient.

      oriental agate;

      oriental garnet.

   3. designating certain natural saltwater pearls found especially in Asia.

noun

1. Older Use: Usually Disparaging and Offensive.,  Usually Oriental a native or inhabitant of the Orient, or East.

Oriental

¹

/ ˌɔːrɪˈɛntəl /

adjective

1. (sometimes not capital) of or relating to the Orient

2. of or denoting a zoogeographical region consisting of southeastern Asia from India to Borneo, Java, and the Philippines

noun

1. a breed of slender muscular cat with large ears, long legs, and a long tail

2. (sometimes not capital) an inhabitant, esp a native, of the Orient

oriental

²

/ ˌɔːrɪˈɛntəl /

adjective

1. another word for eastern Compare occidental

Sensitive Note

Is it Asian, Asiatic, or Oriental? See Asian.

Other Word Forms

• orientally adverb
• anti-Oriental adjective
• half-oriental adjective
• nonoriental adjective
• pseudooriental adjective
• quasi-oriental adjective
• semioriental adjective
• unoriental adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of oriental¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin orientālis, from orient-, stem of oriēns “the east, sunrise,” literally, “rising” + -ālis, adjective suffix; equivalent to orient + -al ¹