( usually initial capital letter ) of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the Orient, or East; Eastern.
2.
of the orient or east; eastern.
3.
( initial capital letter ) Zoogeography. belonging to a geographical division comprising southern Asia and the Malay Archipelago as far as and including the Philippines, Borneo, and Java.
4.
Jewelry.
a.
( usually initial capital letter ) designating various gems that are varieties of corundum: Oriental aquamarine; Oriental ruby.
b.
fine or precious; orient: oriental agate; oriental garnet.
c.
designating certain natural saltwater pearls found especially in the Orient.
noun
5.
( usually initial capital letter ) a native or inhabitant of the Orient.
late 14c., from O.Fr. oriental (12c.), from L. orientalis "of the east," from orientem (see Orient (n.)). Originally in reference to the sky, geographical sense is attested from late 15c.; oriental carpet first recorded 1868 (in C.L. Eastlake). The noun meaning "native or