mid

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mɪd/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English mid, midde, inherited from Old English midd (“middle”),^[2][3][4] from Proto-Germanic *medja-,^[2][5] the source also of Old Saxon middi, Old Frisian midde, Old High German mitti, Old Norse miðr and Gothic midjis.^[2][3] It is from Proto-Indo-European *medhyo- (“middle”),^[2][3] which also gave Latin medius, Greek mésos and Sanskrit mádhya-.^[3][5][4] The preposition, “amid”, is a shortening of amid or of the phrase in midde.^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old English mid, before 725, rare except in inflected forms such as midde, middes and midre.^[3][5] In Old English it was prefixed to the names of times, as in midday, midnight and midsummer, from about 1000.^[7][5]

Semantic evolution

By late Middle English it was probably felt only as a prefix,^[2] and the OED notes many combinations, such as mid-career and mid-channel, from the late 19th century.^[7] Occupying a middle position is from about 1440.^[7] As a preposition, “in the middle of, amid”, it is from about 1400,^[2] and is sometimes written 'mid.^[2] In phonetics a mid vowel is one made with the tongue half raised, from 1876.^[7]

Timeline

• before 725 – Old English mid.^[3]
• c. 1000 – prefixed to names of times.^[7]
• c. 1400 – preposition, amid.^[2]
• c. 1440 – central, intermediate.^[7]
• 1876 – of vowels.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. In the middle; central.
2. (phonetics) Of a vowel, made with the tongue halfway between high and low.

Preposition

1. (poetic) Amid.

Word family

• midleg
• midmost
• midpoint
• midshipman
• midsummer
• midterm
• mid off

Related words

• midday
• midnight
• middle
• amid
• midst
• midwife
• medium
• meso-

Usage notes

Old English also had a preposition mid, “with”, cognate with German mit; it was replaced by with and survives only in midwife.^[2] The OED also has mid as a jocular shortening of midshipman (1797).^[7]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press