Orientalized

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The practice of converting or representing aspects to showcase features of Eastern culture
2. Portrayed in a way that reflects Western ideas or stereotypes of Asian or Middle Eastern societies
3. Represented according to Western perspectives that emphasize exotic or traditional elements of Eastern regions

Etymology: "Orientalized" is the past form of "orientalize," a verb built from "oriental" plus the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun or adjective into a verb meaning "to make or treat in a certain way." The base "oriental" comes from Latin "orientalis," meaning "eastern," from "oriens," the rising sun, which is why the word carried the sense of the lands to the east of Europe. Because "oriental" was long used in English to describe the peoples and cultures of Asia and the Middle East from a European viewpoint, "orientalize" came to mean recasting those cultures through Western assumptions and stereotypes. The verb therefore describes a process of distortion as much as description: a subject is shaped to fit an outsider's image of the exotic rather than its own reality.

Synonyms: Asianized