midst English · revision 15235

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=before 1325}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mɪdst/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|middest]], an alteration of [[m|enm|middes]],^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) formed from [[mid]] and the adverbial genitive [[-s]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) evolved from the phrases in middes and on middes;^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) Merriam-Webster and Collins treat middes as a back-formation from amiddes (see [[amid]]).^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023) The unetymological -t, added in the 15th century, is perhaps after superlatives in -st and -est, as in [[amongst]] and [[against]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) or was added for ease of pronunciation, as in [[betwixt]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The middle, the centre: middes before 1325, in ''Cursor Mundi'', in Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) midst about 1400 in Etymonline, and in the OED from 1400–50.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Being in the interior of, enveloped or surrounded by something, as in the phrase ''in the midst of the storm'', is from before 1500.^(OED 1989) With a possessive, ''in our midst'', among us, is from about 1586.^(OED 1989) Milton used midst as an adverb, in the middle place, in 1667.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) The plain sense, the centre, is now archaic.^(OED 1989)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1325 – middes.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1400 – midst, the middle.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * ?before 1500 – in the midst of.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1586 – in our midst.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # In the midst of: surrounded or [[envelop|alt=enveloped]] by; during, especially at a critical point.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # In our (or their) midst: among us (or them).^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(archaic)'' The middle or centre.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Preposition===

+ # ''(poetic)'' Among; [[amid]].^(AHD)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mid]]

+ * [[amid]]

+ * [[amidst]]

+ * [[middle]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}