eastern

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
See also: Eastern

English

Etymology

From Middle English esturne, esterne, from Old English ēasterne (eastern), from Proto-Germanic *austrōnijaz (eastern), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-ro- (eastern), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (dawn, east). Cognate with Old Saxon and Old High German ōstrōni (eastern), Old Norse austrœnn (eastern).

Morphologically east +‎ -ern.

Pronunciation

Adjective

eastern (comparative more eastern, superlative most eastern)

  1. Of, facing, situated in, or related to the east.
    Synonym: (poetic) eoan
    • 1948, Carey McWilliams, North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States, J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25:
      While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San Francisco, seeking a site for the presidio, the American colonists on the eastern seaboard, three thousand miles away, were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
    • 2015, Shane R. Reeves, David Wallace, “The Combatant Status of the “Little Green Men” and Other Participants in the Ukraine Conflict”, in International Law Studies, US Naval War College[1], volume 91, number 361, Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, page 393:
      The “little green men”—faces covered, wearing unmarked olive uniforms, speaking Russian and using Russian weapons—have played a significant role in both the occupation of Crimea and the civil war in eastern Ukraine.196
  2. (of a wind) Blowing from the east; easterly.
  3. (loosely) Oriental.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Anagrams