east

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The direction where the sun rises.

   The sun comes up in the east.

2. 2
   adv

   Towards or in the direction of the east.

   We drove east for several hours.

3. 3
   adj

   Situated in or facing the east.

   Their house has a large east window.

4. 4
   noun

   The eastern part of a country or region.

   The east of the country is much drier than the west.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

East is an Old English word of Germanic origin. It comes from an ancient root shared with Latin aurora “dawn” and probably originally referred to the direction in which the morning grows light and the sun rises.

From Middle English est, from Old English ēast, from Proto-West Germanic *austr, from Proto-Germanic *austrą, from Proto-Germanic *austraz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éwsteros (“east”). Cognates Cognate with Scots aist (“east”), North Frisian uast, ååst, ööst (“east”), Saterland Frisian Aaste (“east”), West Frisian east (“east”), Dutch oost (“east”), German Ost (“east”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål øst (“east”), Faroese eystur (“east”), Icelandic austur (“east”), Norwegian Nynorsk aust, øst (“east”), Swedish ost, öst, öster (“east”); also with Avestan 𐬎𐬱𐬀𐬯𐬙𐬀𐬭𐬀 (ušastara, “eastern”), Latin auster…

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External links

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