Mashreq
/ˈmæʃ.rɛk/noun
A term for the eastern Arab world, especially the Levant, Iraq, and sometimes Egypt.
Did you know?Mashreq and Maghreb form a symbolic east–west pair in Arabic geography: one is associated with sunrise, the other with sunset.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ś-r-q
“To rise or shine, especially of the sun”
Ancient Hebrew
Hebrew
מִזְרָח (mizrāḥ)
“East; the direction of sunrise”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
شَرْق (sharq)
“East; the direction from which the sun rises”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
مَشْرِق (mashriq)
“Place of sunrise; eastern region”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
المشرق (al-Mashriq)
“The East, particularly the eastern Arab lands”
Modern English
English
Mashreq
“The eastern Arab world, used especially in geographic and political writing”