orienter

Forms

orienter^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French orient + -er.^[2][3][4] The base noun is from Latin oriēns (“rising (sun)”), the present participle of orior (“to rise”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb was preceded by its past participle: bien orienté is recorded about 1485 in the Mystère du Viel Testament, of a place well placed with respect to the sun.^[2][5] Littré quotes Cotgrave's une pierre bien orientée.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The active verb, “to set something in relation to the points of the compass, a direction or an object”, is found in Furetière in 1690.^[2][5] The Petit Robert and the Grand Larousse give the old particular sense “to build a church facing east”.^[7][8] Several technical uses date from the late 17th century: orienter un plan, une carte, to mark the cardinal points on a map (Richelet, 1680), then to turn the map so that its north matches true north (1690), and in seamanship orienter les voiles, to trim the sails to the wind (1691).^[2][5] The reflexive s'orienter, to find one's position by the cardinal points or by landmarks, is first found in La Bruyère in 1694.^[2][5]

The sense “to show someone the way” appears only in 1862, in Sainte-Beuve.^[2][5] About 1893 the verb took the figurative sense “to give a direction to an activity”, applied from 1903 to steering a pupil towards a subject; the reflexive “to turn one's activity towards” follows in Proust (1922).^[2][5] In geometry droite orientée dates from 1899,^[2] and the pejorative orienté “biased by a doctrine” is found in de Gaulle in 1959.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1485 – Bien orienté is used of a place well exposed to the sun.^[2][5]
• 1680 – Richelet records orienter un plan, une carte.^[2][8]
• 1690 – Furetière records the transitive verb.^[2][5]
• 1691 – Orienter les voiles appears in Ozanam.^[2]
• 1694 – La Bruyère uses s'orienter “to find one's bearings”.^[2][5]
• 1862 – Sainte-Beuve uses it for “to show someone the way”.^[2][5]
• 1893 – The figurative sense “to give a direction to an activity” appears.^[2][5]
• 1922 – The reflexive “to turn one's activity towards” appears in Proust.^[2]
• 1959 – Orienté “doctrinally biased” is found in de Gaulle.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (dated) To build (a church or other building) facing east.^[7][8]
2. To set (something) facing a given direction or cardinal point: orienter une terrasse au sud.^[7][2]
3. To mark the cardinal points on a map or plan, or to turn it so that its north matches true north.^[7][2]
4. (mathematics) To give a line a positive direction.^[7]
5. (nautical) To trim the sails to the wind.^[2][6]
6. To show (someone) the way, to guide, and figuratively to steer (a person, an inquiry, a conversation) in a given direction.^[7][2]
7. (reflexive) S'orienter: to find one's bearings, and figuratively to turn one's activity towards something.^[7][2]

Word family

• orientable
• réorienter

Related words

• orientation
• orient
• désorienter
• oriental
• 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 r s t u v w 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse