Where does “Middle East” come from?
Middle East (English) comes from English middle, from Middle English myddel, from Old English middel, from Proto-West Germanic *midl, from Proto-Germanic midlą, from Proto-Germanic midjō, from Proto-Indo-European médʰyos, from Proto-Indo-European medʰi- — in the middle of, near, by, around, with.
Ancestry of “Middle East”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | middle | A centre, midpoint; The part between the... |
| 2 | Middle English | myddel | — |
| 3 | Old English | middel | middle |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | *midl | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | midlą | middle |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | midjō | middle, midst |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | médʰyos | middle |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | medʰi- | with, among; with, along |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | me | in the middle of, near, by, around, with |