Great Lands

A name dating back to the earliest times, referring to Middle-earth, or the major part of it. In the sense of Middle-earth in its entirety, the name was commonly used by the Númenóreans and their descendants, and perhaps for them the 'great' in that case referred to the enormity of Middle-earth compared with the island of Númenor. The term predates the foundation of Númenor, though, and at times seems to refer just to the larger eastern part of Middle-earth, separated from Beleriand by the Blue Mountains.