Etymology

oriental

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Today it means: Of a pearl or other precious stone: having a superior lustre. Full definition →

First used 14th c.Middle English oriental ← Anglo-Norman oriental ← Middle French oriental
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oriental · adjective, noun1

See Oriental.

Oriental · adjective, noun2

  1. Latin · derived fromorientālis“eastern”
  2. Middle French · derived fromoriental
  3. Anglo-Norman · derived fromoriental
  4. Middle English · inherited fromoriental
  5. English todayOriental

From Middle English oriental, from Anglo-Norman oriental, Middle French oriental, from Latin orientālis (“eastern”), from oriēns (“rising (of the Sun)”), present active participle of orior (“to rise”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 14th c. Of a pearl or other precious stone: having a superior lustre.
  • from 14th c. Pertaining to the eastern part of the sky; happening before sunrise.
  • 15th–19th c. Happening in the eastern part of a given place or location.
  • from 15th c. Pertaining to the regions east of the Mediterranean, beyond the Roman Empire or the early Christian world; of the Near East, the Middle East or the Far East, now especially relating to East Asia.
  • from 19th c. Designating various types of aromatic tobacco grown in Turkey and the Balkans.
  • from 14th c. A precious stone, especially an orient pearl.
  • from 15th c. A member or descendant of the peoples and cultures of the Orient.
  • 15th–19th c. A person from the eastern region of a place.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.