Wiktionary

medium

See also: Medium, médium, and mèdium

English

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin medium, neuter of medius (“middle”), from Proto-Italic *meðjos, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between”). Compare middle. Doublet of mid, medio, media, and mediate.

Pronunciation

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  • enPR: mē'diəm, IPA(key): /ˈmiː.di.əm/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -iːdiəm

Noun

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medium (plural media or mediums)

  1. The material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent.
  3. The materials or empty space through which signals, waves, or forces pass.
    • 1631, Francis [Bacon], “III. Century. [Experiments in Consort, Touching the Medium of Sounds.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, paragraph 220, page 60:
      VVhether any other Liquours, being made Mediums, cauſe a Diuerſity of Sound from Water, it may bee tried: […]
    • 1641 (first performance), [John Denham], The Sophy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1667, →OCLC, Act II, page 18:
      He’s old and jealous, apt for ſuſpitions, ’gainſt which Tyrants ears
      Are never clos’d. The Prince is young,
      Fierce, and ambitious, I muſt bring together
      All theſe extreams, and then remove all Mediums,
      That each may be the others object.
  5. A format for communicating or presenting information.
    • 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 272:
      [A]t all events, she drank in with eager ear, and admiring mind, anecdote and history of all those excellent traits of disposition, and nobleness of conduct, which made him the idol of his describer, and gave her a knowledge of his temper and character, and the manner in which his boyhood and youth had passed, which she could never have gained by any other medium, and which it was unquestionably right she should know.
    • 2015, “Staging the Politics of Difference: Homi Bhabha's Critical Literacy, Gary A. Olson and Lynn Worsham.”, in Gary A. Olson, Lynn Worsham, Henry A. Giroux, editors, Politics of Possibility: Encountering the Radical Imagination, page 133:
      Too often writing—in the broadest sense—is treated as a communicational medium where the subjects of that communication are constituted prior to the writing, where the objects of that communication are also constituted prior to that writing, and where the task of writing is seen as transparently mediating between already pregiven subjects, pregiven objects, and a preconstituted mise en scène.
  6. (microbiology) A nutrient substance, commonly a solution or solid, for the growth of cells in vitro.
    • 1996, Samuel Baron, editor, Medical Microbiology:
      In some instances one can take advantage of differential carbohydrate fermentation capabilities of microorganisms by incorporating one or more carbohydrates in the medium along with a suitable pH indicator. Such media are called differential media (e.g., eosin methylene blue or MacConkey agar) and are commonly used to isolate enteric bacilli.
  7. (biology, horticulture, etc.) A substance, structure, or environment in which living organisms subsist, grow or are cultured.
  8. A means, channel, agency or go-between through which communication, commerce, etc is conveyed or carried on, or by which an aim is achieved.
    • 2007, Reuben Gold Thwaites, Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Reprint Services Corporation, →ISBN, page 186:
      His loyalty to the English was doubtful and wavering, and his opposition to Post's journey was probably due to fears that his own importance as a medium between the Ohio Indians and the English would be diminished by the former's success.
  9. (engineering) The materials used to finish a workpiece using a mass finishing or abrasive blasting process.
  10. (countable, plural mediums or media) A liquid base which carries pigment in paint.
  11. (painting) A means of expression, in the arts, such as a material (oil, pastel, clay, etc) or method or style (expressionism, jazz, etc).
    Acrylics, oils, charcoal, and gouache are all mediums I used in my painting.
    • 1898, Report of the Public Schools of the State of Missouri, Missouri: Department of Education, page 98:
      Heretofore in following the course, the student has been confined to black and white in the medium of charcoal, pen and ink or pencil. The first introduction to color is by means of the Still Life painting class.
    • 1966, John P. Sedgwick, Discovering Modern Art: The Intelligent Layman's Guide to Painting from Impressionism to Pop:
      It was the woodcut, however, that emerged as the favorite graphic medium of Expressionism. Rejecting the almost limitless pictorial possibilities of lithography, which had dominated printmaking during the nineteenth century, […]
    • 1967, Barnet Kottler, Martin Light, The World of Words: A Language Reader:
      So we get a people in rebellion against a dominant majority, but forced to rebel secretly, to sublimate, as the psychologist would put it — to express themselves culturally through the medium of jaz , and linguistically through a code, a jargon  ...
    • 1974, Karl Siegfried Weimar, German Language and Literature: Seven Essays, Prentice Hall:
      Prose is not the preferred medium of expressionism, yet some outstanding individual examples come to mind, for example: Robert Walser's (1876–1956) surrealistic miniatures and novels of a dreamlike structure reminiscent of Kafka […]
    • 1999, Jet, page 29:
      The Pulitzer board said the award was given “in recognition of his musical genius, which evoked aesthetically the principles of democracy through the medium of jazz and thus made an indelible contribution to art and culture.”
  12. (countable, logic) The mean or middle term of a syllogism, that by which the extremes are brought into connection.
  13. (countable, spiritualism, plural mediums or (rare, nonstandard) media) Someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world.
  14. (countable) A middle place or degree.
    a happy medium
  15. (countable, dated) An average; sometimes the mathematical mean.
    • 1769, [Edmund Burke], Observations on a Late State of the Nation, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 5:
      The number of Britiſh ſhips annually arriving in our ports vvas reduced to 1756 ſail, containing 92.559 tons, on a medium of the ſix years vvar, compared vvith the ſix years of peace preceding it.
  16. Anything of a middle rank or position.
    • 1891, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, The Historic Note-book: With an Appendix of Battles, page 153:
      Cavalry […] is divided into mediums, heavies, and light cavalry.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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medium (countable and uncountable, plural mediums) (nominalized)

  1. (uncountable, especially clothing, food or drink) One of several common sizes to which an item may be manufactured.
    Synonym: M
  2. (countable, especially clothing, food or drink) An item labelled or denoted as being that size.
  3. (countable, especially with respect to clothing) One who fits an item of that size.
  4. (countable, Ireland, dated, informal) A half-pint serving of Guinness (or other stout in some regions).

Translations

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Adjective

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medium (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) Arithmetically average.
  2. Of intermediate size, degree, amount etc.
  3. Of meat, cooked to a point greater than rare but less than well done; typically, so the meat is still red in the centre.
  4. (especially clothing, food or drink) That is medium (the manufactured size).

Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Adverb

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medium (not comparable)

  1. To a medium extent.

Synonyms

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References

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Anagrams

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Danish

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Etymology

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From Latin medium.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /meːdiɔm/, [ˈmeːˀd̥jɔm]

Noun

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medium or medie n (singular definite mediet, plural indefinite medier)

  1. medium

Inflection

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Declension of medium
neuter
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative medium mediet medier medierne
genitive mediums mediets mediers mediernes

Adjective

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medium (neuter medium, plural and definite singular attributive medium)

  1. medium

Further reading

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Dutch

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Latin medium.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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medium n (plural media, diminutive mediumpje n)

  1. means, system or instrument for fulfilling an end
    • 1967, Evert Willem Barth, Moderne logica, Van Gorcum, 138-139:
      Het is zeer aannemelijk dat sommige talen zich er beter toe lenen dan andere, als medium voor het logisch denken dienst te doen.
      It is very probable that some language are more suitable to being used as a medium for logical thinking than others are.
  2. (physics) medium which a wave or force traverses
    • 2009, Douglas C. Giancoli, Natuurkunde. Deel 2: Elektriciteit, magnetism, optica en moderne fysica, (tr. by Marianne Kerkhof & Louis Rijk Vertaling, red. by Luc van Hoorebeeke & Jan Rykebusch), Pearson (4th edition), 1100.
      Ze noemden dit transparante medium de ether en gingen ervan uit dat de hele ruimte ervan doordrongen was.
      They called this transparent medium aether and assumed that all of space was completely pervaded by it.
  3. (grammar) middle voice
  4. (communication, media) means of communication, media outlet
  5. (communication) data medium, something that contains data
  6. channeler, someone who claims to access the dead
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • → Indonesian: medium

Etymology 2

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Borrowed from English medium, from Latin medium.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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medium n (plural mediums)

  1. something of medium size

Adjective

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medium (not comparable)

  1. of medium size
  2. (of meat) medium rare
Declension
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Declension of medium
uninflected medium
inflected medium
comparative —
positive
predicative/adverbial medium
indefinite m./f. sing. medium
n. sing. medium
plural medium
definite medium
partitive mediums
Synonyms
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Indonesian

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Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Etymology

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [meˈdiʊm]
  • Hyphenation: mé‧di‧um

Noun

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medium or médium

  1. medium,
    1. anything having a measurement intermediate between extremes.
    2. the means, channel, or agency by which an aim is achieved.
    3. someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world.
    4. (physics) the materials or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass.
    5. (biology) a nutrient solution for the growth.
  2. (rare) media

Alternative forms

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Further reading

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Latin

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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medium

  1. inflection of medius:
    1. masculine accusative singular
    2. neuter nominative/accusative/vocative singular

Noun

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medium n (genitive mediī or medī); second declension

  1. middle, center, medium, midst
  2. community, public, publicity

Declension

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Second-declension noun (neuter).

singular plural
nominative medium media
genitive mediī
medī1 		mediōrum
dative mediō mediīs
accusative medium media
ablative mediō mediīs
vocative medium media

1Found in older Latin (until the Augustan Age).

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Noun

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medium

  1. accusative/genitive singular of medius

References

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  • “medium”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “medium”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • medium in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • (ambiguous) the Mediterranean Sea: mare medium or internum
    • (ambiguous) the middle ages: media quae vocatur aetas
    • (ambiguous) manhood: aetas constans, media, firmata, corroborata (not virilis)
    • (ambiguous) to remove a person: e or de medio tollere
    • (ambiguous) to become known, become a topic of common conversation (used of things): foras efferri, palam fieri, percrebrescere, divulgari, in medium proferri, exire, emanare
    • (ambiguous) to leave a thing undecided: aliquid in medio, in dubio relinquere (Cael. 20. 48)
    • (ambiguous) elevated, moderate, plain style: genus dicendi grave or grande, medium, tenue (cf. Or. 5. 20; 6. 21)
    • (ambiguous) to bring a subject forward into discussion: in medium proferre aliquid
    • (ambiguous) to publish, make public: in medio ponere (proponere)
    • (ambiguous) to break off in the middle of the conversation: medium sermonem abrumpere (Verg. Aen. 4. 388)
    • (ambiguous) to be neutral: medium esse
    • (ambiguous) to be neutral: medium se gerere
    • (ambiguous) the centre of the marching column: agmen medium (Liv. 10. 41)
    • (ambiguous) the centre: media acies
    • (ambiguous) let us leave that undecided: hoc in medio relinquamus

Norwegian Bokmål

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Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no
 
Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin medium.

Noun

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medium n (definite singular mediet, indefinite plural medier, definite plural media or mediene)

  1. a medium (also in spiritualism)

Derived terms

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See also

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References

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin medium.

Noun

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medium n (definite singular mediet, indefinite plural medium, definite plural media)

  1. a medium (also in spiritualism)

Derived terms

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See also

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References

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Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

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Borrowed from English medium, from Latin medium. Doublet of miedza and między.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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medium n

  1. (spiritualism) medium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world)
  2. means (instrument or condition for attaining a purpose)
  3. (grammar) middle voice
    Synonym: strona zwrotna

Declension

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Declension of medium
singular plural
nominative medium media
genitive medium mediów
dative medium mediom
accusative medium media
instrumental medium mediami
locative medium mediach
vocative medium media

Further reading

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  • medium in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • medium in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Swedish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin medium.

Noun

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medium n

  1. medium (on some scale)
    Kebabsåsen finns i tre konsistenser: vattnig, medium och krämig
    The kebab sauce is available in three consistencies: watery, medium, and creamy
    Tröjan finns i tre storlekar: small, medium och large
    The shirt is available in three sizes: small, medium, and large
  2. a medium (substance in which some physical process takes place)
  3. a medium (format for transmitting information)
  4. (spiritualism) a medium
  5. (grammar) middle voice
  6. (mathematics) a mean
    Synonym: (more common) medelvärde
  7. (dated) a middle part
    i mediet av augusti
    in the middle of August

Declension

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Declension of medium
nominative genitive
singular indefinite medium mediums
definite mediet mediets
plural indefinite medier mediers
definite medierna mediernas
Declension of medium (Latin plural)
nominative genitive
singular indefinite medium mediums
definite mediet mediets
plural indefinite media medias
definite media medias
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References

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