Meaning & History
Derived from the Latin noun oriēns "daybreak, dawn, sunrise" or, by extension, "east" (as the dawn broke from the east in Rome). In its participle usage, the word also meant "rising" (also "appearing" or "originating"). Both senses are derivatives of the Latin verb orior "I rise, get up" (also "I appear, become visible" or "I am born, come to exist, originate").This name was borne by a Christian Latin poet from the 5th century AD.