Easterner

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A individual hailing from the eastern segments of a nation or region
2. An individual originating from or living in the eastern regions of a country or area
3. Someone who comes from the eastern part of a country or territory

Etymology: "Easterner" is about as transparent as English compounds get: it is "eastern" with the agentive suffix "-er" attached, so it means one who belongs to or comes from the east. The suffix has a longer pedigree than the word it sits on. It descends from Latin "-arius", which passed through Old French "-ier" into Middle English as "-er", while the same ending arrived in Old English as "-ere", so English has been adding it to nouns and adjectives for well over a thousand years. The adjective "eastern" is older still and is itself built from the Germanic base for "east", reached by a route that started far back in the Indo-European family. Because "-er" attaches so freely, the same pattern produces "northerner", "southerner" and "westerner", and the set shows how English names regional identity: a person is defined by the direction they come from rather than by any single homeland.

Synonyms: eastern inhabitant