eastern, a. and n.
(ˈiːstən)
Forms: 1 éasterne, 3 estrin, 4 estren, estern(e, 6–7 easterne, 7– eastern.
[OE. éasterne = OS. ôstroni, OHG. ôstrôni (wind), ON. austrœnn:—OTeut. *austrônjo-, f. *austr- east; for the suffix ônjo- (? = L. -āneus) cf. northern, southern, western.]
A. adj.
1. a. Of or pertaining to the east side of the world, to countries in the East, or to the empire of the East; dwelling in the East; Oriental. Eastern Church: the great communion otherwise called the Greek Church. Eastern question: a general term for the political problems relating to Eastern Europe.
| a 1000 Ags. Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 228 Eoi magi, easterne tungelwiteᵹan. a 1300 Cursor M. 11388 A prophet of estrinland, hight balaam, crafti and bald. 1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. iv. xi, His desire was that of the two the Easterne Church should rather yield. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. v. ii. 311 Oh Easterne Starre. 1732 Pope Ess. Man ii. 27 As Eastern priests in giddy circles run. 1872 Morley Voltaire (1886) 82 The simple political conception of an eastern tale, a good-tempered despot with a sage vizier. |
b. Situated in, of or pertaining to, the (north-)eastern parts of the United States.
| 1776 Jrnl. Cont. Congress 24 Dec. VI. 1039 That the delegates of the eastern states confer together, and also those of the southern states. 1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants 250 Notice of their plans..was inserted in an Eastern periodical. 1837 Southern Lit. Messenger III. 373, I set out to make a tour of the Eastern States. 1885 Century Mag. Nov. 33/1 Mr. Tully..admitted willingly that he was an Eastern man—a Down East lumberman and boat builder. 1908 C. E. Mulford Orphan xiii. 153 At one time an Eastern woman had tried to live there, but..New York regained and kept its own. 1943 J. D. Hicks Short Hist. Amer. Democracy 334 Eastern farmers were unable to meet in full the needs of their new industrial centers for foodstuffs. |
c. the Eastern Shore: that part of Maryland and Virginia lying between Chesapeake Bay and the ocean. Also attrib.
| 1624 Capt. J. Smith Virginia iv. 141 To plant the Secretaries land on the Easterne shore neere Acomack. 1777 Maryland Jrnl. 5 Aug. (Th.), [He] now has a family living near Choptank, on the Eastern Shore. 1785 Washington Diary 31 Dec. (1925) II. 461 Landed 230 Bushels of Oats to day from an Eastern Shore vessel. 1786 Ibid. 8 Apr. III. 39 Afterwards I sowed..the common Oat of the Eastern Shore. 1854 W. G. Simms Southward Ho! 179 In approaching the ‘Eastern Shore’ of Virginia..you find yourself gliding toward.. scenes of repose, delicacy, and quiet beauty. 1948 Mencken Amer. Lang., Suppl. II. vii. iv. 128 On the Eastern Shore [of Maryland], south of the Choptank river, the dialect shows the influence of Tidewater Virginia... It is often difficult to say of a strange Eastern Shoreman..whether he comes from below the Choptank or above. |
2. Lying towards the east; having a position relatively east; facing eastward.
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. ii. 42 He [the sun] fires the prowd tops of the Easterne Pines. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 541 The eastern Gate of Paradise. a 1719 Addison (J.), The eastern end of the isle rises up in precipices. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & It. Isl. II. 18 The greatest names of the church continued to be found in the eastern quarter of the empire. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. §11. 74 A pale light now overspread the eastern sky. |
b. Having an eastward direction. rare.
| a 1719 Addison (J.), A ship at sea has no certain method in either her eastern or western voyages. |
3. Of the wind: Blowing from the east. poet.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 315 (Gr.) Ðonne cymð on uhtan easterne wind. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 142 Fan'd with the Easterne winde. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. i. (R.) When eastern breezes yet enervate rise. 1842 Tennyson Audley Court 52 She was sharper than an eastern wind. |
B. n. a. An inhabitant of the East; an oriental. b. A member of the Eastern Church.
| c 1000 ælfric Job (Thwaite) 167 (Bosw.) Se wer wæs swiðe mære betwux eallum easternum. 1862 J. Gadsby in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. cxix. 136 Most of the easterns shed tears much more copiously than the people of Europe. 1865 Pusey Truth Eng. Ch. 60 S. Meletius remained in the communion of the Easterns. 1884 Graphic 4 Oct. 360/2 These degenerate Easterns, who..rush at and devour French novels of the lowest type. |
Hence ˈEasterner (U.S.), an inhabitant of one of the eastern or New England states.
| 1864 Lowell Biglow P. Wks. (1879) 246 One hears such not seldom among us Easterners. |
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Add: [A.] [1.] d. Eastern Empire: the more easterly of the two parts into which the Roman Empire was divided (formally in a.d. 395). Cf. western a. 4 d.
| 1624 [see divulsion n.]. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. III. xxxii. 314 Pulcheria..continued to govern the Eastern empire near forty years. 1853 G. Finlay Hist. Byzantine & Greek Empires I. i. i. 3 The social condition of the inhabitants of the Eastern Empire had already undergone a considerable change during the century which elapsed from the accession of Heraclius to that of Leo. 1908 H. S. Jones Roman Empire xi. 440 So long as the menace of the Huns was directed against the Eastern Empire alone, Aëtius was their friend. 1964 A. H. M. Jones Later Roman Empire I. vii. 217 (heading) The Eastern Empire from Marcian to Anastasius. |
e. Eastern (standard) time N. Amer.: time as reckoned in the fifth time zone west of Greenwich, based on the 75th meridian. Abbrev. E.S.T. s.v. E III. c.
| 1883 Boston Even. Transcript 10 Nov. 9/6 The Standard Time for the running of Trains of this road will be changed to conform to the ‘Eastern Standard Time’. 1883 Eastern time [see Pacific time s.v. pacific n. 2 b]. 1945 Chicago Daily News 14 Sept. 7/1 Eastern time would throw Chicago out of tempo with the rest of the country. 1975 Nature 3 July 61/2 Eight rats of Sprague–Dawley descent were placed in a windowless vivarium with lights on from 0600 to 1800 (eastern standard time). 1991 Sports Illustr. 3 June 80/2 CBS refused to broadcast the sixth and final game. It was shown, tape-delayed, at 11:30 pm Eastern time. |
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▸ Eastern bloc n. (also Eastern Bloc, eastern bloc) (a) a loose alliance of eastern and central European countries (now rare); (b) = Soviet bloc n. at Soviet n. and adj. Additions (now hist.).
| 1926 Times 20 Jan. 11 Nor could there have been any talk of an *Eastern bloc. Yugoslavia..would not go beyond her natural sphere. 1950 J. Salwyn World in Crisis ix. 307 The division between the Eastern bloc and the democratic West was sharply emphasized by what Winston Churchill aptly called the ‘iron curtain’. 2005 Australian (Nexis) 22 June 12 The Czech Republic..is also one of the most successful and resilient of the former Eastern bloc nations. |
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▸ Eastern block n. (also Eastern Block, eastern block) now hist. = Eastern bloc n. (b) at Additions.
| 1947 Winnipeg Free Press 24 Nov. 1/4 The type of treaty which has been signed between the Soviet Union and other nations of the *eastern block. 2000 T. Brennan Exhausting Modernity i. 12 In the erstwhile Eastern block, all those photos of all those queues signaled the end of an era. |