median English · revision 10358

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1541|origins=frm médian|origins=la medianus|origins=ine-pro *médʰyos}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmiː.di.ən/ ''(UK)''; /ˈmi.di.ən/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is from Middle French médian or directly from Latin [[m|la|mediānus|t=of the middle]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) from medius, middle (see [[mid]], [[middle]]),^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from PIE [[ine-pro|*médʰyos|alt=*medhyo-|t=middle]].^(Etymonline) An earlier medical use is in Middle English mediana, a vein of the arm (1392), from Medieval Latin mediāna (vēna).^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A median part, in anatomy: 1541, the 1540s, as a noun;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) the adjective, of a middle vein or nerve, 1592.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective was originally anatomical, of veins, arteries and nerves, and in general use, middle or intermediate, by the 1640s (1645).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In statistics the median, the middle number of a series, is from 1883 in Etymonline, 1902 in Barnhart.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) The ''median strip'' between the lanes of a divided road is by 1939 in American English (1954 in Barnhart and the OED).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1392 – mediana, a vein.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1541 – a median part (noun).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1592 – a median vein (adjective).^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1645 – middle, intermediate.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1883 – the statistical median.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1939 – median strip.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Relating to, located in or extending towards the [[middle]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(biology)'' Of or in the plane that divides a body into right and left halves.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(statistics)'' Relating to the middle value in a distribution.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(statistics)'' The middle value in a distribution, with equal numbers of values above and below.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(geometry)'' A line joining a vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A median strip dividing a road.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[medianly]]

+ * [[postmedian]]

+ * [[submedian]]

+ * [[median plane]]

+ * [[median strip]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mean]]

+ * [[medial]]

+ * [[mediate]]

+ * [[mediation]]

+ * [[mediator]]

+ * [[medium]]

+ * [[mediocre]]

+ * [[mediocrity]]

+ * [[middle]]

+ * [[mid]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Median, of the ancient Medes or their language, is a different word, from Media.^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}