east
The direction of sunrise; the orient.
Etymology
Modern English east comes from Old English ēast "eastward, the east," from Proto-Germanic *austra-, from PIE *h₂ews- meaning "dawn, to shine." The same root produced Latin aurōra "dawn" (giving English aurora), Greek ēṓs "dawn" (Homer's "rosy-fingered dawn"), and Sanskrit uṣás "dawn." The direction was named for where the sun rises — east literally means "dawn-ward." The Germanic dawn goddess *Austrō, whose name comes from this root, gave her name to the festival of Easter (Old English Ēastre), connecting the celebration of spring and resurrection to the ancient dawn. German Ost, Dutch oost, and the name Austria (Österreich, "eastern realm") are all cognates. Within English, the orient (from Latin oriēns "rising" — the same concept from a different root) is a synonym that shows how universal the sunrise-direction link is.
The Journey: *h₂ews- → east
*h₂ews-
*austra-
ēast
est, east
east
Cognates Across Languages
These words in other languages descend from the same PIE root *h₂ews-. They are not borrowings but independent inheritances from a common ancestor.
| Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Latin | aurōra | dawn |
| Greek | ēṓs | dawn |
| Sanskrit | uṣás | dawn |
| German | Ost | east |
| Lithuanian | aušrà | dawn |
Did You Know?
Easter is named after the dawn. The Germanic goddess *Austrō (Old English Ēastre) was a dawn deity whose spring festival was adopted into the Christian calendar. Her name comes from PIE *h₂ews- "dawn" — the same root as east, aurora, and Sanskrit uṣás. Easter, east, and aurora are all the same word in different guises.