eastern

adj

Etymology: From Middle English esturne, esterne, from Old English ēasterne (“eastern”), from Proto-Germanic *austrōnijaz (“eastern”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews-ro- (“eastern”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- (“dawn, east”). Cognate with Old Saxon and Old High German ōstrōni (“eastern”), Old Norse austrœnn (“eastern”). Morphologically east + -ern.

1. Of, facing, situated in, or related to the east.

   “While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San Francisco, seeking a site for the presidio, the American colonists on the eastern seaboard, three thousand miles away, were celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence.”

   “The “little green men”—faces covered, wearing unmarked olive uniforms, speaking Russian and using Russian weapons—have played a significant role in both the occupation of Crimea and the civil war in eastern Ukraine.¹⁹⁶”

2. Blowing from the east; easterly.
3. Oriental.