orientée

Orientée is the feminine form of the French adjective and past participle oriented from orienter. It is used to describe something that has an orientation or is directed toward a purpose, audience, or direction. As with other feminine adjectives, its form agrees with the noun it modifies, for example: une architecture orientée objet (object-oriented architecture) or une politique orientée vers les jeunes (policy aimed at young people). In general use, orientée conveys that the subject has a specified direction, aim, or focus.

In mathematical and scientific contexts, orientée indicates that a geometric or topological object carries a chosen orientation. A common pair is espace orienté or variété orientée, referring to spaces or manifolds equipped with a consistent choice of orientation of their tangent spaces. This orientation distinguishes, for instance, clockwise from counterclockwise behavior and is essential to defining integrals, boundaries, and related structures. Phrases such as courbe orientée (oriented curve) ou bord orienté (oriented boundary) are typical in French texts on geometry and topology.

In computing and information technology, orientée appears in compound terms describing paradigms or architectures, notably programmation orientée objet (object-oriented programming) or architecture orientée service (service-oriented architecture). Here orientée modifies the feminine noun (programmation, architecture) and signals a design approach or paradigm rather than a literal direction.

Etymology traceable to orienter and ultimately to orientation, orientée remains a versatile descriptor across domains, its exact nuance shaped by the surrounding noun and field. See also orientation and oriented in related contexts.