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oriental - 4 dictionary results
o⋅ri⋅en⋅tal
[awr-ee-en-tl, ohr‑] 
–adjective
| 1. | (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.
|
–noun
| 5. | (usually initial capital letter) a native or inhabitant of the Orient. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To oriental
| o·ri·en·tal (ôr'ē-ěn'tl, ōr'-) adj.
o'ri·en'tal·ly adv. Usage Note: Asian is now strongly preferred in place of Oriental for persons native to Asia or descended from an Asian people. The usual objection to Oriental—meaning "eastern"—is that it identifies Asian countries and peoples in terms of their location relative to Europe. However, this objection is not generally made of other Eurocentric terms such as Near and Middle Eastern. The real problem with Oriental is more likely its connotations stemming from an earlier era when Europeans viewed the regions east of the Mediterranean as exotic lands full of romance and intrigue, the home of despotic empires and inscrutable customs. At the least these associations can give Oriental a dated feel, and as a noun in contemporary contexts (as in the first Oriental to be elected from the district) it is now widely taken to be offensive. However, Oriental should not be thought of as an ethnic slur to be avoided in all situations. As with Asiatic, its use other than as an ethnonym, in phrases such as Oriental cuisine or Oriental medicine, is not usually considered objectionable. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Oriental
O`ri*en"tal\, a. [L. orientalis: cf. F. oriental.] Of or pertaining to the orient or east; eastern; concerned with the East or Orientalism; -- opposed to occidental; as, Oriental countries. The sun's ascendant and oriental radiations. --Sir T. Browne.Oriental
O`ri*en"tal\, n. 1. A native or inhabitant of the Orient or some Eastern part of the world; an Asiatic. 2. pl. (Eccl.) Eastern Christians of the Greek rite.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : oriental
Spanish:
oriental,
German:
orientalisch,
Japanese:
東洋の
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