From Middle English est, from Old English ēast, from Proto-West Germanic *austr, from Proto-Germanic *austrą, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ewsér.

• IPA: /iːst/, enPR: ēst

east (plural easts)

1. The direction of the earth's rotation, specifically 90°.

   Alternative form: (abbreviation) E

   Portsmouth is to the east of Southampton.

   We live in the east of the country.

   • 1895, Thomas Hardy, Jude the Obscure:

     In a few hours the birds come to it from all points of the compass – east, west, north, and south […]

2. The eastern region or area; the inhabitants thereof. [circa 1300]
3. (ecclesiastical) In a church: the direction of the altar and chancel; the direction faced by the priest when celebrating ad orientem.

• French: est, orient, levant
• German: Osten, Ost
• Italian: est, oriente, levante
• Portuguese: este, leste, oriente
• Russian: восто́к
• Spanish: este, oriente, levante

east (not comparable)

1. Situated or lying in or towards the east; eastward.
2. (meteorology) Blowing (as wind) from the east.
3. Of or pertaining to the east; eastern.
4. From the East; oriental.
5. (ecclesiastical) Designating, or situated in, the liturgical east.

   the east front of a cathedral

• (situated or lying in or towards the east) eastward
• (meteorology: wind from the east) easterly
• (of or pertaining to the east) eastern
• (from the East) oriental

• (antonym(s) of “situated or lying in or towards the east”): westward
• (antonym(s) of “meteorology: wind from the east”): westerly
• (antonym(s) of “of or pertaining to the east”): western

• French: à l'est
• Italian: orientale
• Portuguese: ao leste, oriental
• Russian: восто́чный

• French: de l'est
• Italian: di levante
• Portuguese: do leste, leste
• Russian: восто́чный

• French: de l'est
• Italian: orientale
• Portuguese: oriental
• Russian: восто́чный
• Spanish: oriental

• French: oriental, orientale
• Italian: da est
• Portuguese: oriental
• Russian: восто́чный
• Spanish: oriental

east (not comparable)

1. towards the east; eastwards

• (towards the east) eastwards

• (antonym(s) of “towards the east”): west. westwards

• French: vers l 'est
• Italian: a est, verso est
• Portuguese: a leste, para o leste, em direção ao leste
• Spanish: hacia el este, al este, (con) rumbo al este

The civil parish is named for its geographical location. Coined by British-Dutch surveyor Samuel Holland.

• IPA: /iːst/

1. A personification of the wind from the east.
   • 1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Part I”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC ↗, page 23 ↗:

     […] I sat down and wrote, / In such a hand as when a field of corn / Bows all its ears before the roaring East; […]

   • 1859, Charles Dickens, “Fire Rises”, in A Tale of Two Cities, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC ↗, book II (The Golden Thread), page 158 ↗:

     Up the two terrace flights of steps the rain ran wildly, and beat at the great door, like a swift messenger rousing those within; uneasy rushes of wind went through the hall, […]. East, West, North, and South, through the woods, four heavy-treading, unkempt figures crushed the high grass and cracked the branches, striding on cautiously to come together in the court-yard.

2. The Eastern world; the regions, primarily situated in the Eastern Hemisphere, whose culture is derived from Arabia, India, Persia or China.
   • 1868 January 4 – June 6, [William] Wilkie Collins, “Second Period. The Discovery of the Truth. (1848–1849.) […] [Third Narrative. Contributed by Franklin Blake.]”, in The Moonstone. A Romance. […], volume II, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], published 1868, →OCLC ↗, chapter III, page 282 ↗:

     I remember a hearty welcome; a prodigious supper, which would have fed a whole village in the East; […]

3. The Eastern Bloc; the eastern countries of Europe.
4. (historical) the Soviet Union and its socialist allies during the Cold War.
5. The eastern states of the United States.
6. The eastern part of any region.
7. A civil parish in Kings County, Prince Edward Island. [From 1765]
8. Surname.

• German: Ostwind
• Italian: levante
• Russian: ост
• Spanish: viento de levante, levante

• French: orient, levant
• German: Osten, Orient (refers to the Middle East rather than East Asia)
• Italian: oriente, levante, Oriente, Levante
• Portuguese: levante, nascente, oriente, Oriente
• Russian: Восто́к
• Spanish: oriente, Oriente

• French: les états de l'est des États-Unis
• Italian: stati dell'est degli Stati Uniti