amid English · revision 15190

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 975|origins=ine-pro *medhyo-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /əˈmɪd/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|amidde]], [[inh|ang|on middan|t=in the middle]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[m|ang|on]] and [[m|ang|middan]], the dative singular of [[m|ang|midde|t=middle]] (see [[mid]]),^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) from [[ine-pro|*medhyo-|t=middle]].^(Etymonline) Barnhart suggests it was formed on the analogy of [[la|in mediō]].^(Barnhart 1988) [[m|enm|amidde]] was later extended to [[m|enm|amiddes]], which became [[amidst]] with an added t.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As an adverb, in the middle, in the midst: before 1000 in the OED;^(OED 1989) as a preposition, in the middle of, about 975.^(OED 1989) The Old English phrase is already in Beowulf, about 725, and Middle English amidde is probably before 1200, in Layamon.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Because the phrase was felt as “in the middle”, it was at first followed by a genitive, which in modern English would have been ''of''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The sense “in the middle of” is now only poetic,^(OED 1989) and “between two things” (about 1230) is obsolete.^(OED 1989) Surrounded by a place or substance is from 1340, among objects from about 1230,^(OED 1989) in the midst of a state or condition from 1513, and amid actions or events from 1719.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 975 – in the middle of.^(OED 1989)

+ * before 1000 – in the middle (adverb).^(OED 1989)

+ * probably before 1200 – amidde.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1230 – among objects.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1513 – amid a condition.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1719 – amid events.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # Surrounded by; in the middle of.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # [[among|alt=Among]].^(Collins 2023)

+ # During, in an atmosphere of: ''amid growing concerns''.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[amidships]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[amidst]]

+ * [[mid]]

+ * [[middle]]

+ * [[midst]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}