Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Orientation

Orientation , noun

[Compare French orientation.]

1.
The act or process of orientating; determination of the points of the compass, or the east point, in taking bearings.
2.
The tendency of a revolving body, when suspended in a certain way, to bring the axis of rotation into parallelism with the earth's axis.
3.
(Architecture) An aspect or fronting to the east; especially (Architecture), the placing of a church so that the chancel, containing the altar toward which the congregation fronts in worship, will be on the east end.
4.
A return to first principles; an orderly arrangement. [Figurative]
The task of orientation undertaken in this chapter. — L. F. Ward