The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania. The Western world is also known as the Occident (from the Latin word occidēns "setting down, sunset, west") in contrast to the Eastern world known as the Orient (from the Latin word oriēns "origin, sunrise, east"). Following the Discovery of America in 1492, the West came to be known as the "world of business" and trade; and might also mean the Northern half of the North–South divide, the countries of the Global North (often equated with capitalist developed countries).