Middle East

English

The Middle East (modern sense).

Etymology

Compound of middle +‎ east formed in English, modeled on Far East and Near East. Attested from the latter 19th century.

Proper noun

Middle East

1. (geopolitics, dated) The region between the Near East and the Far East.
   • 1920 April 21, House of Commons, quoting Austen Chamberlain, “Budget proposals, Committee of Ways and Means”, in The Parliamentary Debates, volume 128, page 455:

     Well, what may happen in the Middle East? I agree there are uncertainties, but when he was condemning the policy of the Government with regard to the Turkish peace, had he thought for a moment of the financial effect of the policy which he advocated?

2. (geopolitics) The region comprising West Asia without the South Caucasus and additionally including all of Egypt (not just the Sinai) and all of Turkey (not just Asian Turkey).

Synonyms

• Mideast

Derived terms

• Greater Middle East
• MENA
• Middle East Standard Time
• Middle Eastern
• Middle Easterner

Descendants

Descendants of Middle East

• → Arabic: الشَّرْق الْأَوْسَط (aš-šarq al-ʔawsaṭ) (calque)
• → Azerbaijani: Orta Şərq (calque)
• → Belarusian: Сярэ́дні Усхо́д (Sjarédni Usxód) (calque)
• → Catalan: Orient Mitjà (calque)
• → Czech: Střední východ (calque)
• → Dutch: Midden-Oosten (calque)
• → French: Moyen-Orient (calque)
• → German: Mittlerer Osten (calque)
• → Greek: Μέση Ανατολή (Mési Anatolí) (calque)
• → Italian: Medio Oriente (calque)
• → Kazakh: Орта Шығыс (Orta Şyğys) (calque)
• → Macedonian: Среден Исток (Sreden Istok) (calque)
• → Norwegian: Midtøsten (calque)
• → Persian: خاورمیانه (xâvar-e-miyâne) (calque)
• → Polish: Środkowy Wschód (calque)
• → Portuguese: Oriente Médio (calque)
• → Romanian: Orientul Mijlociu (calque)
• → Russian: Сре́дний Восто́к (Srédnij Vostók) (calque)
• → Spanish: Medio Oriente (calque)
• → Swedish: Mellanöstern (calque)
• → Turkish: Orta Doğu (calque)
• → Turkmen: Orta Gündogar (calque)
• → Urdu: مَشْرِقِ وُسْطیٰ (maśriq-e vustā) (calque)
• → Uyghur: ئوتتۇرا شەرق (ottura sherq) (calque)
• → Uzbek: Oʻrta Sharq (calque)

Translations

region comprising Western Asia without the South Caucasus and additionally including all of Egypt and all of Turkey

• Afrikaans: Midde-Ooste
• Albanian: Lindje e Mesme f, Lindja e Mesme f (definite)
• Amharic: መካከለኛው ምሥራቅ (mäkakäläñaw məśraḳ)
• Arabic: الشَّرْق الْأَوْسَط (ar) m (aš-šarq al-ʔawsaṭ), مَشْرِق m (mašriq)

  Hijazi Arabic: الشرق الأوسط m (aš-šarg al-ʔawsaṭ)

• Armenian: Մերձավոր Արեւելք (Merjavor Arewelkʻ), Միջին Արեւելք (hy) (Miǰin Arewelkʻ)
• Assyrian Neo-Aramaic: ܡܲܕ݂ܢܚܵܐ ܡܸܨܥܵܝܵܐ m (maḏnḥā miṣˁāyā)
• Azerbaijani: Orta Şərq
• Belarusian: Блі́зкі Усхо́д m (Blízki Usxód), Сярэ́дні Усхо́д m (Sjarédni Usxód)
• Bengali: মধ্যপ্রাচ্য (bn) (moddhopracco)
• Bulgarian: Бли́зък И́зток m (Blízǎk Íztok)
• Burmese: အရှေ့အလယ်ပိုင်းဒေသ (a.hre.a.laipuing:desa.)
• Catalan: Orient Mitjà m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 中東／中东 (zung¹ dung¹)

  Hokkien: 中東／中东 (Tiong-tang)

  Mandarin: 中東／中东 (zh) (Zhōngdōng)

• Corsican: Mediu Oriente m
• Crimean Tatar: Orta Şarq
• Czech: Blízký východ (cs) m, Střední východ m
• Danish: Mellemøsten (da) n
• Dutch: Midden-Oosten (nl) n
• Esperanto: Mezoriento, Meza Oriento
• Estonian: Lähis-Ida
• Finnish: Lähi-itä (fi)
• French: Moyen-Orient (fr) m
• Georgian: ახლო აღმოსავლეთი (axlo aɣmosavleti), შუა აღმოსავლეთი (šua aɣmosavleti)
• German: Naher Osten (de) m, Mittlerer Osten m
• Greek: Μέση Ανατολή (el) f (Mési Anatolí)
• Hebrew: הַמִּזְרָח הַתִּיכוֹן (he) m (ha-mizrákh ha-tikhón)
• Hindi: मध्य पूर्व m (madhya pūrv), मध्यपूर्व (hi) m (madhyapūrv)
• Hungarian: Közel-Kelet (hu)
• Icelandic: Mið-Austurlönd n
• Indonesian: Timur Tengah (id)
• Irish: an Meánoirthear m
• Italian: Medio Oriente (it) m
• Japanese: 中東 (ja) (ちゅうとう, Chūtō)
• Kalmyk: Өөрхн Дорд үзг (Öörxn Dord üzg)
• Kazakh: Орта Шығыс (Orta Şyğys)
• Khmer: មជ្ឈិមបូព៌ា (macchɨm boupiə)
• Korean: 중동(中東) (ko) (Jungdong)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ڕۆژھەڵاتی ناوەڕاست (rojhellatî nawerrast)

  Northern Kurdish: Rojhilata Navîn (ku)

• Kyrgyz: Орто Чыгыш (Orto Cıgış)
• Lao: ຕາເວັນອອກກາງ (tā wen ʼǭk kāng)
• Latin: Oriens Medius m
• Latvian: Tuvie Austrumi m
• Lithuanian: Viduriniai Rytai m pl
• Low German: Nohe Ossen
• Macedonian: Близок Исток m (Blizok Istok), Среден Исток m (Sreden Istok)
• Malay: Timur Tengah (ms)
• Maori: Rāwhiti Waenga
• Marathi: मध्यपूर्व m (madhyapūrva)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: Ойрхи Дорнод (Ojrxi Dornod)

• Norman: Mouoyen Orient m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: Midtøsten (no) n

  Nynorsk: Midtausten n

• Pashto: منځنی ختيځ m (manjanǝy xatij)
• Persian:

  Iranian Persian: خاوَرِمِیانِه (fa) (xâvaremiyâne)

• Polish: Bliski Wschód (pl), Środkowy Wschód (pl) m
• Portuguese: Oriente Médio (pt) m, Médio Oriente (pt) m
• Romanian: Orientul Mijlociu n
• Russian: Сре́дний Восто́к m (Srédnij Vostók), Бли́жний Восто́к (ru) m (Blížnij Vostók)
• Scottish Gaelic: an Ear Mheadhan f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Блиски Исток m, Средњи Исток m

  Roman: Bliski Istok m, Srednji Istok m

• Slovak: Blízky východ m, Stredný východ m
• Slovene: Bližnji vzhod m, Srednji vzhod m
• Sotho: Botjhabela Bohare
• Spanish: Oriente Medio (es) m, Medio Oriente (es) m
• Swedish: Mellanöstern (sv) n
• Tagalog: Gitnang Silangan
• Tajik: Ховари Миёна (Xovar-i Miyona)
• Tatar: Урта Көнчыгыш (Urta Könçığış)
• Thai: ตะวันออกกลาง (th) (dtà-wan-ɔ̀ɔk-glaang)
• Tibetan: ཤར་གླིང་དབུས་མ (shar gling dbus ma)
• Tigrinya: ማእከላይ ምብራቕ (maʾkälay məbraḳʰ)
• Turkish: Orta Doğu (tr)
• Turkmen: Orta Gündogar
• Ukrainian: Сере́дній Схід m (Serédnij Sxid), Бли́зький Схід m (Blýzʹkyj Sxid)
• Urdu: مَشْرِقِ وُسْطیٰ m (maśriq-i vustā)
• Uyghur: ئوتتۇرا شەرق (ottura sherq)
• Uzbek: Oʻrta Sharq
• Vietnamese: Trung Đông (vi) (中東)
• Welsh: Dwyrain Canol
• Yiddish: מיטעלער מיזרח m (miteler mizrekh), מיטל מזרח m (mitl mizrekh)

References

• “Middle East, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, March 2002.