orient, v.
(ˈɔərɪɛnt, ˌɔərɪˈɛnt)
[a. F. orient-er to place facing the east, f. orient east.]
1. trans. To place or arrange (anything) so as to face the east; spec. to build (a church) with the longer axis due east and west, and the chancel or chief altar at the eastern end; also, to bury with the feet to the east.
| 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Orienting, In most religions, particular care has been taken to have their temples oriented.—St. Gregory Thaumaturgus is said to have made a mountain give way, because it prevented the orienting of a church he was building. 1896 Jevons in Classical Rev. Feb. 22/1 The primitive Aryan in taking his bearings literally oriented himself and turned to the east. |
b. By extension: To place with the four faces towards the four points of the compass; to place or adjust in any particular way with respect to the cardinal points or other defined data; to place or arrange the parts of a structure in any particular relative position; also, to ascertain the position of (anything) relatively to the points of the compass, etc.; to determine the bearings of.
| 1842 Brande Dict. Sci. etc. 857/2 In surveying, to orient a plan signifies to mark its situation or bearing with respect to the four cardinal points. 1866 Boys' Wonder Bk. 34 To tell him if she saw the Pole-star directly opposite the end of it, so that he might orient his stake. 1882 Proctor in Knowledge No. 13. 266 We are certain that the builders of the Pyramid wanted to orient it very carefully. 1882 Geikie in Nature XXVII. 123/2 The minute flakes interspersed through the ground-mass..are oriented in the same direction. 1892 J. T. Bent Ruined Cit. Mashonaland vi. 161 To orient it towards the setting sun. 1896 Science 3 July 11 We are now at a loss to orient the several parts of the cranium. 1926 C. E. Mulford Cassidy's Protégé xiii. 170 Hesitating for a moment while he oriented the report, he started toward the edge of the hill-top. 1953 E. Lynam Mapmakers' Art ii. 48 All early maps were oriented with the East at the top (whence our words ‘to orient’). 1965 Orienteering (‘Know the Game’ series) 31 Once a map has been ‘set’ or oriented an orienteer should be aware of his position at all times by relating the map to the ground over which he is moving. 1972 N. J. W. Thrower Maps & Man vii. 102 A network of fundamental survey lines oriented predominantly in cardinal directions. |
2. fig. To adjust, correct, or bring into defined relations, to known facts or principles; refl. to put oneself in the right position or relation; to ascertain one's ‘bearings’, find out ‘where one is’. Also, to assign or give a specific direction or tendency to.
| 1850 T. Parker Let. 9 Sept. in Life H. Mann (1865) 325 It seems to me you might, in this way, orient yourself before the public. 1864 E. Sargent Peculiar I. 141 He tried to orient his conscience as to his duty under the extraordinary circumstances in which he found himself. 1867 O. W. Holmes Guardian Angel xxix. (1891) 338 Mistress Kitty accepted Mrs. Hopkins's hospitable offer, and presently began orienting herself, and getting ready to make herself agreeable. 1883 Ward Dynamic Sociol. II. 44 Men must orient themselves before they can expect to go right. 1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet 223 So he held himself still.., trying to orient himself by looking back up the slope, to establish whether he was above or below the tree, to the right or left of it. 1952 G. Sarton Hist. Sci. I. xxii. 579 The orator's art consist[s] in shaping and orienting the passions of the people who listen to him. 1972 Sci. Amer. Dec. 6/2 The program is oriented toward the long-range goal of providing small power sources, automobiles included, with nonpolluting synthetic fuels. 1977 D. Bennett Jigsaw Man iv. 88 He had recognised the lie of the land... He was fully oriented. |
3. intr. To turn to the east, or (by extension) towards any specified direction.
| 1896 Jevons in Classical Rev. Feb. 23/1 The primitive Aryan undoubtedly oriented east. |
4. Chem. a. intr. Of a substituent in a ring: to direct atoms and groups to a specified position in the ring when they enter it as substituents.
| 1924, 1937 [implied in orienting below]. 1949 English & Cassidy Princ. Org. Chem. vi. 106 Why should one group orient predominantly ortho and para, and another predominantly meta? 1971 [see ortho a. (adv.) 1]. |
b. trans. To ascertain the relative positions of the substituents in (a ring or a cyclic compound).
| 1941 F. E. Ray Org. Chem. xv. 375 To prove the structure (orient the ring) of an unknown di-substituted compound. 1958 Read & Gunstone Text-bk. Org. Chem. xxiv. 419 After sound methods of orienting substituted benzenes had been devised it became possible to study more satisfactorily the substitution reactions concerned. |
5. trans. To cause the molecules of (a plastic or other material) to assume a position in which their axes are parallel.
| 1958 W. D. Paist Cellulosics xi. 252 Considerable enhancement of the physical properties of many resin films has been realized on biaxially orienting the formed film. 1969 W. R. R. Park Plastics Film Technol. ii. 26 Virtually any thermoplastic material can be oriented. |
Hence ˈorienting vbl. n. and ppl. a.; spec. in Chem. (cf. sense 4 a).
| 1727–41 [see sense 1 a above]. 1924 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. CXXV. 1377 (heading) The orienting influence of the thiocyano-group in aromatic compounds. 1937 F. C. Whitmore Org. Chem. iii. 723 Benzotrichloride and other meta orienting compounds. 1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics iv. 159 (caption) Magnetic field measuring devices carried by Soviet Sputniks, showing orienting apparatus. 1965 Orienteering (‘Know the Game’ Series) 32 The engraved arrow inside the compass housing points to the top of the map and the orienting lines lie parallel to the grid lines. 1977 ‘A. Stuart’ Snap Judgement 167, I did some orienting..by looking out of the [helicopter] window. |