Cardinal Direction - Order of Directions

Order of Directions

This section requires expansion.

While the directions can be listed in any order, most formally in clockwise or counterclockwise order, starting from some point (such as NESW, or, following the sun from daybreak in the northern hemisphere, ESWN), different languages conventionally use different orders, often using pairs of opposite directions. In English, the conventional order of the directions is "north, south, east, and west" (NSEW = N/S + E/W). In Japanese, most common is EWSN (東西南北 = E/W + S/N), and east-west (東西) is idiomatic for “everywhere, in all parts”; Japan is located at the extreme east of Eurasia.

Read more about this topic:  Cardinal Direction

Famous quotes containing the words order of, order and/or directions:

    “It is well within the order of things
    That man should listen when his mate sings;
    But the true male never yet walked
    Who liked to listen when his mate talked.”
    —Anna Wickham (1884–1947)

    “Men who think deeply appear to be comedians in their dealings with others because they always have to feign superficiality in order to be understood.”
    —Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)

    “What do you think of us in fuzzy endeavor, you whose directions are sterling, whose lunge is straight?
    Can you make a reason, how can you pardon us who memorize the rules and never score?”
    —Gwendolyn Brooks (b. 1917)