■ adjective
1》 of, from, or characteristic of the Far East.
↘( Oriental ) Zoology relating to or denoting a zoogeographical region comprising Asia south of the Himalayas and western Indonesia.
2》 (of a pearl or other jewel) orient.
■ noun often offensive a person of Far Eastern descent.
Derivatives
~ism noun
~ist noun
~ize or ~ise verb
~ly adverb
Usage
The term ~ is now regarded as old-fashioned and potentially offensive as a term denoting people from the Far East. In US English, Asian is the standard accepted term in modern use; in British English, where Asian tends to denote people from the Indian subcontinent, specific terms such as Chinese or Japanese are more likely to be used.