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mid

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Pronunciation

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
  • 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