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eastern

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eastern¹

  • /ˈiː.stən/ UK
  • /ˈi.stɚn/ Canada, US
  • /ˈiː.stən/ Australia, New Zealand

Rhymes with -iːstə(ɹ)n

Where it comes from

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.

adjective more eastern · most eastern · easternmost

  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.

    Similar: eoan

  2. of a wind Blowing from the east; easterly.
  3. broadly Oriental.

Eastern²

adjective more Eastern · most Eastern

  1. Of a region designated as the East by convention or from the perspective of the speaker or author. The noble steamer Atlantic, after a most favorable passage of twelve days, carried our friends safely to the desired port of Liverpool. As Natalie stood once again upon terra firma, she could hardly credit that over three thousand miles of ocean separated her from her home,—that the same waves which
  2. Of the Christian churches originating in the church of the Eastern Roman Empire.
  3. Eastern Orthodox.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: northeastern, southeastern, oriental, orient, asian, mid-atlantic, east, easterly, east-central, middle atlantic, western, eastward, south-eastern, south-east, north-eastern, east-west

Translations

Every language

adj related to the east

Españoloriental, esteño
한국어동의 dong-ui, 동쪽의 dongjjog-ui
日本語東の higashi no, 東方の tōhō no
中文東的 /东的 dōng de, 東方的 /东方的 dōngfāng de
हिन्दीपूर्वी pūrvī, पूरबी pūrbī, पूर्वीय pūrvīya
Portuguêsoriental, do leste
Françaisoriental
Deutschöstlich, Ost-
Italianoorientale
Ελληνικάανατολικός anatolikós
Românăestic, oriental, de est, răsăritean
Русскийвосто́чный vostóčnyj
Tiếng Việtđông
العربيةشَرْقِيّ šarqiyy
עבריתמִזְרָחִי mizrakhí

adj blowing from the east

हिन्दीपूर्वी pūrvī, पूरबी pūrbī, पूर्वीय pūrvīya
Portuguêsleste
Русскийвосто́чный vostóčnyj

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MLA

"eastern." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/eastern. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

eastern. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/eastern

Chicago

"eastern." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/eastern.

BibTeX
@misc{eastern_2026,
  title = {eastern},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/eastern},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}