eastern

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.

adj

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. 1948, Carey McWilliams, North from Mexico / The Spanish-Speaking People of The United States, J. B. Lippincott Company, page 25
   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 2015, Shane R. Reeves, David Wallace, “The Combatant Status of the “Little Green Men” and Other Participants in the Ukraine Conflict”, in International Law Studies, US Naval War College, volume 91, number 361, Stockton Center for the Study of International Law, page 393
2. (of a wind) Blowing from the east; easterly.
3. (loosely) Oriental.