medius

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈmɛ.di.ʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmɛː.di.us]^[1]

Forms

medius (feminine media, neuter medium, comparative magis medius or medior, superlative medioximus); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *meþio-, inherited from Proto-Indo-European *medʰi-o- (“middle”).^[2] Wiktionary gives the Proto-Italic as *meðios and the PIE as *médʰyos (“between”).^[1] Cognate with Oscan mefiaí (“in the middle”) and South Picene mefiín,^[2] and with Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos), Sanskrit मध्य (mádhya) and Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌹𐍃 (midjis).^[3][1][4] De Vaan derives dīmidius “half” from it, with the prefix dis-.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan records it from Livius Andronicus onwards, in the sense of “middle, central”.^[2] Köbler dates Livius Andronicus 280/260–before 200 BC.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Classical Latin it meant situated at the centre, as digitus medius “the middle finger”, and, used partitively, the middle of something: in mediō foco “in the middle of the hearth” in Plautus.^[3] It also meant lying between, intervening, and in time the middle of a period: nox media “midnight”, diēs medius “midday”.^[3] From this came the senses moderate, middling, ordinary, and of persons neutral, committed to neither side, as when Cicero says it will no longer be allowed to stay neutral.^[3] It could also mean acting as an intermediary between two parties.^[3] Döderlein contrasts the purely local medius with modicus “moderate in quantity” and mediocris “middling in worth”.^[6]

In medieval Latin it formed legal phrases of the vineyard contract ad medium plantum.^[7] Its Romance descendants include Italian mezzo, Portuguese meio, Romanian miez and French mi-, while English media and English medium go back to its neuter.^[1][8]

Timeline

• 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses it.^[2][5]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses it of the middle of a hearth.^[3][5]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the centre of the world and of neutral persons.^[9][3][5]
• c. 1600 – English medium is used of an intermediate agency.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Situated at the centre, central, middle.^[3][10]
2. The middle of, the midst of.^[3][1]
3. Lying between, intervening.^[3]
4. Middle in time or order, nox media midnight, diēs medius midday.^[3]
5. Moderate, intermediate; middling, ordinary.^[3][1]
6. Neutral, siding with neither party; undecided.^[3][1]
7. Acting as intermediary.^[3]

Word family

• dīmidius
• intermedius
• mediālis
• mediānus
• mediatenus
• medietās
• mediō
• mediocris
• mediterrāneus
• mediterreus
• meditullium
• medium

Related words

• English medium
• English media

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ 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
4. ^ Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
5. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
7. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
10. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press