Near Easternadj.
/ˌnɪər ˈiːst(ə)n/, U.S. /ˈnɪr ˈistərn/ Of or relating to the Near East. Cf. Far-Eastern adj. at Far East n. Derivatives, Middle Eastern adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > Near East, Middle East, and Asia Minor > [adjective] > Near East
Levant1503
Levantine1649
Near Eastern1906
1906 Q. Rev. Jan. 284 Lord Salisbury and his successor have..skilfully withdrawn England from the Near-Eastern entanglements.
1925 A. Toynbee Surv. Internat. Affairs 1920–23 i. 3 They appear..to have refrained from interfering in any way regarding Near Eastern affairs.
1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris (U.K. ed.) xii. 215 Helen Hatounian put an Armenian record on the gramophone... The afternoon stillness..was rent with the shrill voice of a near-eastern soprano.
1987 New Yorker 9 Feb. 28/2 What it did was to give me carte blanche to study whatever I wanted—math, astronomy, ancient Greek, history of science, Near Eastern languages, Egyptian hieroglyphs, ancient and Near Eastern religion, [etc.].
Derivatives
Near-ˈEasterner n. an inhabitant of the Near East.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Near East, Middle East, or Asia Minor > [noun]
Near-Easterner1923
Middle Easterner1952
1923 Polit. Sci. Q. 38 135 The Near-Easterner cannot realize our lack of preoccupation with his problems.
1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris (U.K. ed.) ii. 24 There were a few North Americans, hordes of English, many South Americans, and a few Near-Easterners.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2003; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1906