East is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. East is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of west and is perpendicular to north and south.
By convention, the right hand side of a map is east.
To go east using a compass for navigation, set a bearing or azimuth of 90°.
East is the direction toward which the Earth rotates about its axis, and therefore the general direction from which the Sun appears to rise.
During the Cold War, "The East" was sometimes used to refer to the Warsaw Pact and Communist China, along with other Communist nations.
Throughout history, the East has also been used by Europeans in reference to the Orient and Asian societies.
Read more about East: Etymology
Famous quotes containing the word east:
“The majority of the men of the North, and of the South and East and West, are not men of principle. If they vote, they do not send men to Congress on errands of humanity; but while their brothers and sisters are being scourged and hung for loving liberty,... it is the mismanagement of wood and iron and stone and gold which concerns them.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“From the east to western Inde,
No jewel is like Rosalind.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“My angel,—his name is Freedom,—
Choose him to be your king;
He shall cut pathways east and west,
And fend you with his wing.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)