MIDDLE EAST

Pronunciation (US):

• MIDDLE EAST (noun)
  The noun MIDDLE EAST has 1 sense:

1. the area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century

  Familiarity information: MIDDLE EAST used as a noun is very rare.

• MIDDLE EAST (noun)

Meaning:

The area around the eastern Mediterranean; from Turkey to northern Africa and eastward to Iran; the site of such ancient civilizations as Phoenicia and Babylon and Egypt and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity and Islam; had continuous economic and political turmoil in the 20th century

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Synonyms:

Middle East; Mideast; Near East

Context example:

the Middle East is the cradle of Western civilization

Instance hypernyms:

geographic area; geographic region; geographical area; geographical region (a demarcated area of the Earth)

Meronyms (parts of "Middle East"):

Republic of Turkey; Turkey (a Eurasian republic in Asia Minor and the Balkans; achieved independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1923)

Iran; Islamic Republic of Iran; Persia (a theocratic Islamic republic in the Middle East in western Asia; Iran was the core of the ancient empire that was known as Persia until 1935; rich in oil)

Al-Iraq; Irak; Iraq; Republic of Iraq (a republic in the Middle East in western Asia; the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia was in the area now known as Iraq)

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Jordan (an Arab kingdom in southwestern Asia on the Red Sea)

Koweit; Kuwait; State of Kuwait (an Arab kingdom in Asia on the northwestern coast of the Persian Gulf; a major source of petroleum)

Lebanese Republic; Lebanon (an Asian republic at east end of Mediterranean)

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia (an absolute monarchy occupying most of the Arabian Peninsula in southwest Asia; vast oil reserves dominate the economy)

Syria; Syrian Arab Republic (an Asian republic in the Middle East at the east end of the Mediterranean; site of some of the world's most ancient centers of civilization)

Arab Republic of Egypt; Egypt; United Arab Republic (a republic in northeastern Africa known as the United Arab Republic until 1971; site of an ancient civilization that flourished from 2600 to 30 BC)

Israel; Sion; State of Israel; Yisrael; Zion (Jewish republic in southwestern Asia at eastern end of Mediterranean; formerly part of Palestine)

Israel (an ancient kingdom of the Hebrew tribes at the southeastern end of the Mediterranean Sea; founded by Saul around 1025 BC and destroyed by the Assyrians in 721 BC)

Fertile Crescent (a geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates)

Domain member region:

falafel; felafel (small croquette of mashed chick peas or fava beans seasoned with sesame seeds)

pita; pocket bread (usually small round bread that can open into a pocket for filling)

zarf (an ornamental metal cup-shaped holder for a hot coffee cup)

Arab-Israeli War; Yom Kippur War (Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in October 1973 (on Yom Kippur); Israel counterattacked and drove the Syrians back and crossed the Suez Canal into Egypt)

Arab-Israeli War; Six Day War; Six-Day War (tension between Arabs and Israeli erupted into a brief war in June 1967; Israel emerged as a major power in the Middle East)

Operation Desert Storm (the United States and its allies defeated Iraq in a ground war that lasted 100 hours (1991))

Instance hyponyms:

Mashriq (Arabic name for the Middle East)