Orient Middle East or the Far East. The term Oriental is often used to describe objects from the Orient. However, given its Eurocentric connotations and shifting, inaccurate definition through the ages, it is generally considered offensive as a label for people from Asia. The term "Orient" derives from the Latin word "oriens" meaning "east" (lit. "rising" < "orior" " rise"). The use of the word for "rising" to refer to the east (where the sun rises) has analogs from many languages: compare the terms "Levant" (< French "levant" "rising"), "Vostok" (< Russian "voskhod" "sunrise"), "Anatolia" (< Greek "anatole"), "mizrahi" in Hebrew
East Asia Asia" is sometimes used to refer to a wide geographical area covering ten Southeast Asian countries in ASEAN, Greater China, Japan and Korea. However, in this context, the term "Far East" is used by the Europeans to cover ASEAN countries and the countries in East Asia. However, being a Eurocentric term, Far East describes the region's geographical position in relation to Europe rather than its location within Asia. Alternatively, the term "Asia Pacific Region" is often used in describing East Asia, Southeast Asia as well as Oceania. Observers preferring a broader definition of "East Asia" often use the term Northeast