Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun The realm of mankind in Old English mythology.
  • proper noun paganism The realm of the mankind or the planet Earth in Heathenry, used as an alternative to the Norse Midgard.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English middel-erde, from Old English middangeard, anglicized from Old Norse miðgarðr, itself from Proto-Germanic *midjagardaz, combined from Proto-Indo-European *medhyo (“middle”) and Proto-Indo-European *ghartos (“enclosure”). Cognate with Danish and Swedish Midgård, Norwegian Midgard or Midgård. The term represents an old Germanic name for our world, the places inhabited by humans, with the literal meaning "middle enclosure".

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Examples

  • For Tolkien, to look for such correspondences is to miss the point of Middle-earth, which is meant to be a real place and not just some amalgam of historical and religious debris.

    Latest Articles 2010

  • The Hobbit is based on the adventures of Bilbo Baggins, a hairy-footed homunculus who lives in a land, Middle-earth, which is filled with wizards, elves, goblins and trolls.

    The Guardian World News Ben Child 2010

  • I am playing a Shadow Priest in Middle-earth, which is interesting in terms of gameplay but rather gutting of the lore, and the lore is a big piece of why you go with The Lord of the Rings Online ™.

    Kill Ten Rats 2009

  • Lucas chose the word Endor for the moon’s planet to honor this, since it is the name of Middle-earth in one of the fictional languages of elves, Quenya, for the Middle-earth is the setting of most of Tolkien’s stories.

    Ewoks Wars | SciFi, Fantasy & Horror Collectibles 2008

  • In the course of the battle, protesters seeking to keep the movie in their country took to the streets, carrying banners proclaiming "New Zealand is Middle-earth" and "We love hobbits."

    Workers of Middle-earth, unite! Michael D.C. Drout 2010

  • Thus Tolkien also comes under the spell, connecting his Middle-earth Legenderium to the Greek myth of Atlantis; when he wrote The Lord of the Rings, he identified it as the story of the inhabitants of Middle-earth after the fall of the kingdom of Númenor, a rough parallel to Atlantis.

    Why Christians Should Go Ahead and Be Pagan 2009

  • Greedy dwarves, who explore the depths of Middle-earth in search of gold and mithril, insist on fair pay for dangerous work, but their avarice and willingness to renegotiate contracts at the edge of a battle-axe don't make them reliable union members.

    Workers of Middle-earth, unite! Michael D.C. Drout 2010

  • He is often dubbed "the American Tolkien," but the core of Tolkien's success is easily stated: Middle-earth itself.

    A Land of Wargs And Yunkishmen Tom Shippey 2011

  • If anyone in Middle-earth is in need of the individual freedoms that collective bargaining can foster, it's these poor, starving slaves who, without a minimum wage, health insurance or 401 (k) s, sometimes resort to cannibalism.

    Workers of Middle-earth, unite! Michael D.C. Drout 2010

  • A few economics lessons from the workers of Middle-earth:

    Workers of Middle-earth, unite! Michael D.C. Drout 2010

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