Postby Palewriter » Thu Sep 14, 2006 12:05 am
Sure
I was referring to "oriented" as an adjective (as opposed to a verb). WordNet gives a nice example:
"helping freshmen become oriented to college life"
The word "oriented" seems to betray its etymology by refusing to conjure up any connections to the East. When we talk about things or people becoming "oriented", it has nothing to do with whether they are facing East.
Silly me. I thought you meant the adjective "oriental".
Well, since folks way-back-when had no compass, the most reliable way to fix direction would be to go by the sun. Since the sun rises in the East, this would at least become a somewhat trustworthy benchmark (to use a more modern term) for the day's wanderings. OK...we're trying to go North....here's the sun coming up...turn left a quarter turn...
By extension, finding one's way (even easier in a university than in a desert, I suppose) would relate semantically.
-- PW
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention to arrive safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: Wow!!! What a ride!"