orientate
Meaning
To make someone familiar with a new place or situation.
To direct or aim something towards a particular purpose or group.
Structure
Usage
The program is designed to orientate new students to campus life.
We need to orientate the map correctly before we start hiking.
The company is trying to orientate its products towards a younger market.
Etymology
The word 'orientate' is a back-formation from the noun 'orientation,' which itself derives from the Medieval Latin orientare, meaning "to face the east." The core root 'orient' originates from the Latin oriens, the present participle of oriri (to rise), referring to the rising sun in the east. Thus, the fundamental concept is aligning oneself with the cardinal direction of the sunrise. Over time, this literal geographical sense broadened into the more abstract meanings of finding one's bearings or directing something towards a specific goal. The addition of the verbal suffix '-ate' solidifies its function as a verb meaning "to cause to face east" or, by extension, "to align or familiarize."
Analysis
- orient: From Latin oriens (rising, east), via French. In this word, it functions as the core root meaning "to find direction or position relative to the east." - ate: A verbal suffix of Latin origin (-atus), used to form verbs meaning "to act upon, to cause to become."