Is there a single English word that means a relative position and direction?
For example,
She is one mile north of us looking to the east. Her x is one mile north, facing east.
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1The rather generic term state and the related status are often used when you want a catch-all term. Only those two things, though, that is tough.– steveslivaCommented Dec 16, 2021 at 4:32
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The closest I can think of is "coordinates".– BarmarCommented Dec 17, 2021 at 2:14
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You can also say "location".– BarmarCommented Dec 17, 2021 at 2:14
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2 Answers
Is there a single English word that means a relative position and direction?
No. If you consider the example:
She is one mile north of us looking to the east.
This gives her position
[she is] facing east.
This refers to her personal state.
You will see that there are and infinite number of distances and directions that could define her position, and these must be multiplied by the infinite number of directions which she could be facing.
If you are willing to keep "facing east", then "Her position is one mile north, and she is facing east."
answered Dec 21, 2021 at 21:39
Many words relate to position only. However, the combination of position (which may be relative) and direction (which is more often absolute) makes this a difficult question.
All I can suggest is that there is a Google entry based on the Oxford Dictionary; it is aspect. It says:
aspect:
the positioning of a building or other structure in a particular direction
It could be argued that it therefore deals with both position (one mile north) and facing direction (eastward).
Despite this definition, I would be wary of using aspect because other sources give it a more restricted (and usual) meaning that relates to direction only. For example:
the direction in which a building, window, room, or sloping field faces, or the view that can be seen because of this direction
With this caution, aspect might best be used in technical prose where you first make clear or define the sense in which you propose to use it.
