English
eastern
Eastern comes from Old English ēasterne, from Proto-Germanic *austrōnijaz ‘eastern’, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- ‘dawn’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ews-1‘dawn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ews-ro-1reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*austrōnijaz1reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ēasterne1
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500esturne1
- Englishearliest quotation 1948eastern1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English eastern
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1948, Carey McWilliams, J. B. Lippincott Company: “While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ews-Wiktionary, English eastern‘dawn’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ews-ro-Wiktionary, English easternreconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*austrōnijazWiktionary, English easternreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ēasterneWiktionary, English eastern
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500esturneWiktionary, English eastern
- Englishearliest quotation 1948easternWiktionary, English eastern. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1948, Carey McWilliams, J. B. Lippincott Company: “While De Anza was exploring the Bay of San…”
Formed from east + -ern
Proto-Germanic *austraz ‘east’
Proto-Germanic *austrą
Proto-West Germanic *austr ‘eastern’
Old English ēast ‘the east’
Middle English est ‘east’
English east
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- ‘dawn, east’
or, air, plane, aurora, aerial, malaria, exhaust, aura, aria, aero, aureus, eastward, aurelia, oriel, oriole, austral, aurum, 61 more
Today it means
adj Of, facing, situated in, or related to the east.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “eastern”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ews- / eastern