orient
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈɔː.ɹɪ.ənt/
ipa: /ˈɒɹ.ɪ.ənt/
ipa: /ˈɔɹ.i.ənt/
ipa: /ˈɔː.ɹɪˌɛnt/
ipa: /ˈɒɹ.ɪˌɛnt/
ipa: /ˈɔɹ.iˌɛnt/
ipa: /ˈɔː.ɹɪ.ənt/
ipa: /ˈɒɹ.ɪ.ənt/
ipa: /ˈɔɹ.i.ənt/
Forms: form: orients
form: orienting
form: oriented
form: oriented
Etymology: The verb is derived from French orienter (“to orientate; to guide; to set to north”) from French orient (noun) (see above) + -er (suffix forming infinitives of first-conjugation verbs).
Senses: examples: text: The first kind of interment was that of leaden coffins, rectangular in shape, covered with a lid, occupying deeper graves than any of the other interments, more or less accurately oriented, sometimes containing coins, as of the Emperor Gratian (ob. 383), and sometimes not. [...] The second type of interment, also of Romans or Romanised Britons, resembled the first in being more or less perfectly oriented, the orientation varying, probably according as it had taken place in summer or in winter, from E.N.E. to E.S.E. over about 45°; [...]
ref: 1868 August 25, George Rolleston, “On the Modes of Sepulture Observable in Late Romano-British and Early Anglo-Saxon Times in This Country”, in International Congress of Prehistoric Archæology: Transactions of the Third Session […], London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1869, →OCLC, pages 176–177:
glosses: To build or place (something) so as to face eastward.
examples: text: Without a compass the table is oriented, when set at one end of a line previously determined, by sighting back on this line, [...]. To orient the table, when at a station unconnected with others, is more difficult.
ref: 1855, W. M. Gillespie, “Part VIII. Plane Table Surveying.”, in A Treatise on Land-surveying: […], New York, N.Y.; London: D. Appleton & Co., […], →OCLC, paragraph 456 (To Orient the Table), page 309:
text: He orients his photo-scale protractor over the intersection of the base line and compass line extended, by means of the bearing of base line AB (S. 32° W.) and reads bearing of compass line RP to 7 (N. 80° W.).
ref: 1963, Karl E. Moessner, Accuracy of Ground Point Location from Aerial Photographs (U.S. Forest Service Research Note; INT-5), Ogden, Ut.: Intermountain Forest & Range Experiment Station, Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture, →OCLC, page 4:
synonyms: word: orientate
english: commonly Britain
translation: commonly Britain
glosses: To align or place (a person or object) so that his, her, or its east side, north side, etc., is positioned toward the corresponding points of the compass; (specifically, surveying) to rotate (a map attached to a plane table) until the line of direction between any two of its points is parallel to the corresponding direction in nature.
examples: text: The workers oriented all the signs to face the road.
text: The present methods of manufacture of fiber boards tend to orient the fibers so that they are most effective for insulation.
ref: 1931 December 1, C[harles] G. Weber, F[rederick] T. Carson, L[eo] W[illiam] Snyder, “Properties Studied and Test Methods Used”, in Properties of Fiber Building Boards (Miscellaneous Publication, Bureau of Standards; no. 132), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, →OCLC, section 3 (Insulating Values), page 13:
text: When a substance is placed in an electric field, the molecules tend to orient themselves in a definite pattern with respect to the direction of the field. The dielectric constant of the material can, for simplicity, be defined as a measure of the degree to which the individual particles are oriented or the material polarized.
ref: 1963 November, M. E. Whitten, L. A. Baumann, “Theory of Dielectric Constant Measurements”, in Evaluation of a Rapid Method of Determining Oil Content of Soybeans (United States Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin; no. 1296), Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 7:
text: The goal is to draw on reservoirs of strength that defy rational thought, so you can wrench your poor, obsessed spirit away from work and orient it toward stuff that matters.
ref: 2007 November, Gil Schwartz, “Escape from the job monster”, in Men's Health, volume 22, number 9, →ISSN, page 122:
synonyms: word: orientate
english: commonly Britain
translation: commonly Britain
glosses: To direct towards or point at a particular direction.
examples: text: Let me just orient myself and we can be on our way.
text: All around your spirit, the universe lies open and free, and you can go where you will. Orient yourself! Orient yourself! [...] [S]tudy and obey the sublime laws on which the frame of nature was constructed; study and obey the sublimer laws on which the soul of man was formed; and the fulness of the power and the wisdom and the blessedness, with which God has filled and lighted up this resplendent universe, shall all be yours!
ref: 1850, Horace Mann, A Few Thoughts for a Young Man: A Lecture, Delivered before the Boston Mercantile Library Association, on Its 29th Anniversary, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, →OCLC, page 84:
text: The two stars, one at the Pole and the other at the Equator, were essential to both orienting and dating the structure. Hence the conclusion that the Great Pyramid could not have accomplished its design as a monumental witnessing pillar at any other time, and that the only time when the aid indispensable was possible was B.C. 2170.
ref: 1879 March, James French, “The Great Pyramid in Connection with the Pleiades; or, The Last Anniversary of the Great Year of the Pleiades. When, How, and Why Celebrated.”, in Kansas City Review of Science and Industry, a Monthly Record of Progress in Science, Mechanic Arts and Literature, volume II, number 12, Kansas City, Mo.: Journal of Commerce Printing and Publishing House, →OCLC, page 758:
glosses: To determine which direction one is facing.
examples: text: Give him time to orient himself within the new hierarchy.
text: Thus the thought-world is a symbol, or system of symbols, which serves the organic beings of the real world for orienting themselves in the world of actual being, and is the means whereby they translate the proceedings of this world into the language of the soul.
ref: 1913, G[eorge] R[obert] S[towe] Mead, “Vaihinger’s Philosophy of the ‘As If’”, in Quests Old and New, London: G[eorge] Bell & Sons, Ltd., →OCLC, page 257:
text: Computer Systems Analyst II [...] Determines and resolves data processing problems and coordinates the work with program, users, etc.; orients user personnel on new or changed procedures.
ref: 1991 September, “Appendix B: Occupational Descriptions”, in Area Wage Survey: Charlotte—Gastonia—Rock Hill; North Carolina—South Carolina Metropolitan Area (Bulletin; 3060-27), [Washington, D.C.]: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, →OCLC, page 41:
text: The first system of attention underlies orienting to and exploration of objects in the environment and is composed of at least two networks involved in orienting to locations in space and object recognition, respectively [...].
ref: 1996, Holly Alliger Ruff, Mary Klevjord Rothbart, Attention in Early Development: Themes and Variations, New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 114:
synonyms: word: orientate
english: commonly Britain
translation: commonly Britain
antonyms: disorient
disorientate
glosses: To familiarize (oneself or someone) with a circumstance or situation.
examples: text: We will orient our campaign to the youth who are often disinterested.
text: Whatever the occasion of the public religious observance, whether it was the holding of a temple fair, praying for rain, or celebrating a popular festival, religion came to serve as a symbol of common devotion in bringing people out of their divergent routines and orienting them toward community activities.
ref: 1961, C. K. Yang [i.e., Ch’ing-k’un Yang], “Communal Aspects of Popular Cults”, in Religion in Chinese Society: A Study of Contemporary Social Functions of Religion and Some of Their Historical Factors, Berkeley; Los Angeles, Calif.: University of California Press, page 81:
glosses: To set the focus of (something) so as to appeal or relate to a certain group.
examples: text: Observation stations were established at vantage points along the coast to monitor gray whale responses to the sounds generated by the air gun array. [...] At 3 miles some whales appeared to orient toward the sound.
ref: 1984 February, “Appendix T: Biological Opinion from National Marine Fisheries Service for Proposed Southern California Lease Offering, February 1984”, in EIS: Environmental Impact Statement: Proposed Southern California Lease Offering, final volume 2, Los Angeles, Calif.: Prepared by the Minerals Management Service, Pacific OCS Region, published April 1984, →OCLC, page 8-239:
glosses: To change direction to face a certain way.
Derived terms: word: biorient
word: disorient
word: disorientate
word: misorient
word: nonorientable
word: nonoriented
word: orientability
word: orientable
word: orientate
word: orientating
word: orientation
word: orientative
word: oriented
word: orientee
word: reorient
word: reorientate
word: reorientation
word: unorientable
word: unoriented
Related terms: orientalism
orientalist
oriental
Oriental
orienteer
orienteering
origin