Mideast
/ˈmɪd.iːst/noun
A region of southwest Asia and northeast Africa, especially the area around the eastern Mediterranean and Arabian Peninsula.
Did you know?Unlike words such as *disaster* or *mortgage*, *Mideast* has no occult or classical hidden meaning—it’s a 20th-century clipping of *Middle East*, a geopolitical label that became common in English through modern journalism and diplomacy.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
mid
“In the middle; among; between.”
Middle English
ME
middel
“The middle part or position.”
14th Century
English
Middle East
“A modern directional phrase meaning the region between Europe and the Far East.”
19th Century
English
Middle East
“A geopolitical term increasingly used in British and American writing for southwest Asia and nearby regions.”
20th Century
English
Mideast
“A clipped, informal shortened form of Middle East.”