Etymologically
Log in

amidst

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the English word amidst

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1300 St. Agnes, MS Laud
Ultimate origin
Old English midde

Pronunciation

  • /aˈmɪdst/, /əˈmɪtst/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English amiddes, also spelled amyddes,[2][3][4] formed from Middle English amidde + -es, that is amid with the adverbial genitive ending -s or -es;[5][2][6][7][8] the OED derives it partly from the adverb and partly from the preposition amid.[7] The final -t is unetymological: Etymonline dates it from the mid 15th century and Barnhart to the 1500s.[9][2] It probably arose by association with superlatives in -est,[9][2][7] or, as Barnhart also suggests, was added for phonetic reasons;[2] the OED adds that it was probably reinforced because the preposition was often followed by the article in the form te.[7] The same pattern gave amongst, against, betwixt and whilst.[9][6][7][10] The Middle English base amidde goes back to Old English on middan (“in the middle”), formed with the dative of midde (“middle”).[9][3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

As an adverb, in the middle: about 1300, in the life of Saint Agnes in MS Laud; as a preposition, in the centre of, about 1300 in the life of Saint Thomas the Apostle in the same manuscript.[7] Barnhart's first record is of 1391, as amyddes.[2]

Semantic evolution

The sense "surrounded by, among" is recorded from about 1330, in Sir Orfeo,[7] and a use with no physical location, "in the course of, in a setting of", from about 1400, in Piers Plowman.[7] Chaucer used the word seven times, in the forms amidde, amiddes, amydde, amyddes and amyddys, and Gower sixteen times, as amidde and amiddes.[4] The adverb is now rare, and the prepositional sense "in the centre of" merged with "among" by the late 19th century.[7] A rare noun, the midst, chiefly in the phrase in the amidst of, is recorded from 1664.[7] Johnson (1755) treated amid and amidst together, derived them from a and mid or midst, and quoted Paradise Lost.[11]

Timeline

  • c. 1300 – adverb, in the middle; preposition, in the centre of.[7]
  • c. 1330 – surrounded by, among, in Sir Orfeo.[7]
  • 1391 – Barnhart's first record, as amyddes.[2]
  • c. 1400 – in the course of, in a setting of, in Piers Plowman.[7]
  • mid 15th century – the form with final -t.[9]
  • 1664 – noun, the midst (rare).[7]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. In the middle of; surrounded by; among: a cabin amidst the pines.[3][7][1]
  2. During, or in a setting of: Amidst the noise, nobody heard the bell.[3][7][12]

Adverb

  1. (archaic) In the middle.[7][8]

Usage notes

According to the OED, as reported by Etymonline, amidst tends to be used more distributively than amid, of things scattered about, or of a thing moving among others.[9] It is generally taken as a synonym of amid, which style guides on both sides of the Atlantic prefer.[1][12][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  5. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  11. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
  12. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Amidst.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/amidst. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·