sheets of paper, or a very small computer, for recording information, addresses, meetings etc
or·gas·m /'ɔːgæzəm/ˈɔːr-/ n [C;U] the highest point of sexual pleasure —mic /ɔː'gæzmik/ɔːr-/ adj
or·gi·as·tic /,ɔ:dʒi'æstɪk⌒ ‖,ɔ:r-/ adj 1 of or like an
orgy 2 full of excitement or wild activity
or·gy /ˈɔːdzɪl/r-/ n 1 a wild party, usually with large quantities of food, alcohol etc, and especially with sexual activity: a drunken orgy 2 [(of)] infml an activity or set of activities done too much, or without control: They embarked on an orgy of sightseeing/of spending.
o·ri·el win·dow /'ɔːriəl ˌwɪndəʊ/ n tech an upper window that is built out from a wall
o·ri·ent¹ /'ɔrient, 'ori-ll'ɔ:-/ v [T] especially AmE to ORIENTATE orient² adj [A] poet 1 eastern 2 (of the sun) rising
Orient, the old use the eastern part of the world; Asia → compare OCCIDENT
•ri·en·tal /,c:ri'entl·, ☎-‖,c:-/ n, adj (sometimes cap.) (a person) of or from the Orient → compare OCCIDENTAL and see SUBCONTINENTAL (USAGE)
ori·en·tal·ist /,ɔri'entəlst, ,p-‖,ɔ:-/ n a specialist in the languages, civilizations etc of the countries of the Orient, including the Middle East
o·ri·en·tate /'ɔːriəntet, 'ɒ-lɪ'ɔː-/ also orient especially AmE — v [T] 1 [often pass.] to arrange or direct with a particular purpose: an English language course that is orientated towards the needs of businessmen | an export-oriented company (=which deals mostly in EXPORTS) | a text-oriented microcomputer 2 to establish the position of (oneself or something else), especially in relation to a map or COMPASS: The climbers stopped to orientate themselves before descending the mountain. → see also DISORIENTATE
ori-en-ta-tion /,riən'teifən, ˈpɑːl,ˈɔːl/ n [C;U] 1 a position or direction: (fig.) a new orientation in life 2 [U] AmE preparation for a new usually long-lasting activity: The new students have three days of orientation before classes begin. | an orientation meeting for the workshop
•ri·en·teer·ing /,ri·ien'tierin, ,p-‖,o-/ n [U] a sport in which people have to find their way quickly across unknown country, using a map and COMPASS
Orient Express, the a famous LUXURY railway train, used especially by rich people. It used to run (1883–1977) between Paris and Istanbul in Turkey, but there is now a luxury Orient Express train that goes from London to Venice. The train appears in many stories, including Agatha CHRISTIE's novel Murder on the Orient Express (1934), which was also made into a film.
or·i·fice /'or3f3s||'o:-, 'a:-/ n fml or humor an opening; hole, especially in the body
o·ri·ga·mi /,drə'ga:mill,ɔː-/ n [U] the Japanese art of folding paper to make decorative objects such as birds, animals etc
or·i·gin /'orɪdʒɪnɪl'ɔː-, 'ɑː-/ n 1 [C;U] a starting point: the origin of a river/of a belief | a word of unknown origin 2 [U] also origins pl. — parents and conditions of early life: a woman of humble origin(s) (=from a low social class or a poor family)
•rig·i·nal¹ /ə'rɪdʒɪnəl, -dʒənəl/ adj 1 [A no comp.] first; earliest: The original owner of the house was a Frenchman. 2 often aprec new and different; unlike others: an original idea/invention | a very original thinker | How original of you! → opposite UNORIGINAL 3 [A] not copied: an original (painting by) Picasso → see also ORIGINALLY
original $ ^{2} $ n 1 [C] (of a painting, official paper etc) the one from which copies have been or can be made: Which museum is the original in? 2 [the+S] the language in which something was originally written: They are studying Arabic in order to read the Koran in the original. 3 [C] infmi, sometimes humor or derog a person whose behaviour, clothing etc are unusual
o·rig·i·nal·i·ty /ə,rid35'næl5ti/ n [U] often apprec the quality of being ORIGINAL: Her book shows great originality.
o·rig·i·nal·ly /ə'rɪdʒənəli, -dʒənəli/ adv 1 in the beginning; formerly: The family originally came from France. | It was originally conceived as a biography, but became a novel. 2 in a new and different way: a very originally written play
o,riginal 'sin n [U] the state of disobedience to God which everyone is in from birth, according to Christian teaching, because ADAM and Eve ate the fruit from the TREE OF KNOWLEDGE in the Garden of EDEN → see also FALL
o·rig·i·nate /ə'rɪdʒəneɪt/ v 1 [l+adv/prep] to have as an established starting point: This TV series originated in/from a short story. 2 [T] to be the first person to establish: She originated a discussion group. —nator n
Orkney /ˈɔːknɪlˈɔːr-/ also 'the Orkney ,'Islands, the Orkneys a group of islands off the north coast of Scotland, south of the Shetland Islands. Farming and fishing are the main industries, but the islands are also a base for the North Sea oil industry.
Orlan·do /ɔːˈlændəʊlɔːr-/ a city in Florida, US, which attracts large numbers of tourists, mainly because of DISNEY WORLD and the Epcot Center
or-mo-lu /'ɔːməlʊːl'ɔːr-/ n [U] a gold-coloured mixture of metals, not containing real gold: an ormolu clock
or·na·ment¹ /'ɔːnəməntl'ɒr-/ n 1 [C] an object possessed because it is (thought to be) beautiful rather than because it is useful: little ornaments on the mantelpiece 2 [U] something that is added to make something else more beautiful: very plain architecture, with little ornament 3 [C(to)] fml, sometimes derog a person or thing that adds honour, importance, or beauty (but not necessarily usefulness or cleverness): She is an ornament to her profession. | Her escort is strictly an ornament, he doesn't seem to have a brain cell working.
or·na·ment² /'ɔːnəment|'ɔːr-/ v [T(with)] to add ornament to: a finely ornamented ceiling
or·na·men·tal /,:nə'mentl·k/ ,icr-/ adj providing or used as ornament; DECORATIVE: a photograph in an ornamental frame | The buttons on this dress are only ornamental. (=you cannot unfasten them) | an ornamental bush —ly adv
or·na·men·ta·tion /,o·nemen'ter[en‖,or-/ n [U] the qual-ity of having or adding ornament
or-nate /ɔːˈneɪtliːər-/ adj sometimes derog having a great deal of decoration; not simple: an ornate style —ly adv —ness n [U]
or·ne·ry /'ɔːnərɪl'ɔːr-/ adj humor, especially AmE bad-tempered
or·ni·thol·o·gy /,cn'θo·lədzi|,cn'θaː-/ n [U] the scien-tific study of birds —gist n —gical /,cn'θe'lɒdʒikəl|,cn'θe'laː-/ adj
o·ro·tund /'drəutʌndl'ɔːrə-/ adj fml 1 full and strong in sound 2 foolishly solemn
or·phan¹ /'ɒfənl/ n a person, especially a child, whose parents are both dead; sometimes used of a person who has one parent only left alive
orphan² v [T usually pass.] to cause to be an orphan: She was orphaned when her parents died in a plane crash.
or-phan-age /'ɔːfənɪdʒ|'ɔːr-/ n a place where orphan children live
Or·phe·us and Eu·ry·di·ce /,:fies and ju:'rid;sill,:r-/ in ancient Greek stories, a husband and wife who love each other very much. Orpheus was such a great musician that even birds and wild animals came and listened to him sing and play his LYRE. When Eurydice died, Orpheus was so upset that he followed her down into HADES (=the place under the ground where the spirits of dead people live) and sang to the king and queen there. They allowed Eurydice to leave so long as Orpheus did not look back to see if she was following him. He did look back, however, and so she had to return to Hades. Many stories, plays, and pieces of music have been based on this story.
Orr, Bobby /ɔːr/ (1948-) a Canadian ICE HOCKEY player, who played for teams in Boston and Chicago and was the most successful player of the 1970s
Or-te·ga, Daniel /o:'teigə/:(1945-) a Nicaraguan politician and leader of its government from 1979 to 1990, and president from 1984 to 1990. As leader of the LEFT-WING Sandinista group, Ortega was very unpopular with the US