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orienteering

[awr-ee-en-teer-ing, ohr-]
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noun
  1. a competitive sport, originating in Sweden, that tests the skills of map reading and cross-country running, in which competitors race through an unknown area to find various checkpoints by using only a compass and topographical map, the winner being the finisher with the lowest elapsed time.
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Origin of orienteering

alteration of Swedish orientering (conformed to -eer), equivalent to orienter(a) orient (v.) + -ing -ing1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for orienteering

orienteering

noun
  1. a sport in which contestants race on foot over a course consisting of checkpoints found with the aid of a map and a compass
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Word Origin

C20: from Swedish orientering; compare orient
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for orienteering

in reference to a competitive sport, 1948, from orient (v.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper