orient

Forms

orient m (plural orients)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin oriēns (“the east, the lands of the rising sun”), the present participle of orior (“to rise”), said especially of a heavenly body.^[2][3][4] Bloch and Wartburg take it as short for a phrase with sōl (“sun”), the rising sun.^[5] Rey compares the verb with Ancient Greek ὄρνυμι (órnumi), as Littré does.^[3][6] The Latin verb itself did not pass into the Romance languages, apart from isolated records such as Anglo-Norman orir in the 13th century.^[3]

The same Latin word gave Romanian orient, Occitan orient, Catalan orient, Italian oriente, Spanish oriente, Portuguese oriente and German Orient.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) it names Asia and some of the lands around the Mediterranean: Conquerrat [à] lui d'ici qu'en orient.^[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

From the early 12th century the word also meant a region to the east of a given point (Voyage de saint Brendan) and one of the four cardinal points, where the sun rises (Psautier d'Oxford).^[2][3][8] In the literary style it named the place of sunrise, and by metonymy the dawn.^[3] By metonymy too it named the peoples of the East (1641, Corneille).^[2][3]

The figurative sense “beginning, dawning brightness” arose in the 16th century; the idea of brightness gave the brightness of the eyes in poetry (1573, Desportes) and the pearly sheen of pearls (1742).^[2][3] In freemasonry orient names the town where a lodge sits, and Grand-Orient one of the main French obediences; the TLFi dates both to 1778 after the FEW, while Rey dates Grand-Orient to 1678.^[2][3][9] For the East as a whole, modern French writes l'Orient with a capital and distinguishes Extrême-Orient, Moyen-Orient and Proche-Orient.^[3][7]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – In the Chanson de Roland, for Asia and the Mediterranean lands.^[2]
• early 12th century – A region to the east of a given place.^[2][8]
• 1st half of the 12th century – The cardinal point of sunrise, in the Psautier d'Oxford.^[2]
• 1573 – Desportes uses it for the brightness of the eyes.^[2][6]
• 1641 – Corneille uses it for the peoples of the East.^[2][3]
• 1742 – Dezallier d'Argenville uses it for the sheen of pearls.^[2][8]
• 1778 – Masonic orient and grand-orient are recorded.^[2]
• 1868 – Extrême-Orient is recorded by Littré.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literary) The part of the sky or horizon where the sun rises, the east; the opposite of occident.^[7][9]
2. The cardinal point east.^[9][2]
3. A region lying east of a given place; especially (usually l'Orient) Asia and some lands of the Mediterranean, the Orient: un tapis d'Orient.^[7][9]
4. The iridescent lustre of a pearl: une perle d'un bel orient.^[9][2][8]
5. (freemasonry) The town where a lodge sits;^[9][2] Grand-Orient, the name of certain Masonic obediences.^[9][2]

Word family

• orienter
• orientation
• désorienter
• orientaliste

Related words

• oriental
• origine
• occident
• levant
• Latin oriēns

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e f g Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)