What does "Middle-earth" mean?

Native speaker’s answer
Rebecca
In Lord of the Rings, "Middle-earth" is the fictional setting of the human-inhabited world, otherwise known as the central continent of Earth. You'll see this mythological setting mentioned many times in the books and movies. The author actually was inspired by the old Norse word "Midgard" (Miðgarðr), meaning the world inhabited by humans. Ex: It is unknown what exactly lies in the continents outside of Middle-earth. Ex: Who is the most powerful in all of Middle-earth?