medium

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈmɛ.di.ũː]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmɛː.di.um]^[1]

Forms

medium n (genitive mediī or medī); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is the neuter of medius “middle”, used as a noun.^[2][3] De Vaan traces ⟨medius⟩ to Proto-Italic *meþio-, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD's earliest citation is from Cato, of the middle part or centre.^[2] Köbler dates Cato 234–149 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It was the middle, the centre, and the space between or within, the midst, as in Cicero.^[2] The midst was also the open, public view: in Plautus in medium is into public view, and in Terence in mediō is what lies open to all, within reach.^[2] It was used for the middle of a period, mediō temporis “meanwhile”, as in Sallust; for a middle course, a mean, as in Cicero; and for an undecided state, as in Livy's in mediō relinquere “to leave open”.^[2]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant middle, midst, medium, mean, half.^[6] English borrowed medium in the 1580s, “a middle ground, quality or degree”, and its plural media later.^[3]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato uses it of the centre.^[2][5]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses in medium “into public view”.^[2][5]
• 86–34 BC – Sallust has mediō temporis “meanwhile”.^[2][5]
• 1580s – English medium is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The middle, centre.^[2]
2. The space between or within, the midst.^[2]
3. The open, public view, in mediō available to all.^[2]
4. The middle of a period of time, mediō temporis meanwhile.^[2]
5. A middle course, mean.^[2]
6. An undecided state: in mediō relinquere to leave undecided.^[2]

Related words

• medius
• English medium
• English media

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson