middle east

noun

1. Also called Mideast. (loosely) the area from Libya E to Afghanistan, usually including Egypt, Sudan, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the other countries of the Arabian peninsula.
2. (formerly) the area including Iran, Afghanistan, India, Tibet, and Burma.

noun

1. (loosely) the area around the E Mediterranean, esp Israel and the Arab countries from Turkey to North Africa and eastwards to Iran
2. (formerly) the area extending from the Tigris and Euphrates to Myanmar

n.1899; never defined in a generally accepted way. Early use with reference to British India. Hence Middle-Eastern (1903). Region in western Asia and northeast Africa that includes the nations on the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt (see also Egypt), Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey.