middle English · revision 3509

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=785 (Old English middel)|origins=ine-pro *medhyo-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈmɪd.əl/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|middel]], [[inh|ang|middel|t=equally distant from extremes; intermediate]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002) from [[gmw-pro|*middila]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) formed with a suffix from the base of [[mid]], Proto-Germanic [[m|gem-pro|*miðja-]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(SOED 2002) from [[ine-pro|*medhyo-|t=middle]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) Its cognates include [[ofs|middel]], [[osx|middil]], [[nl|middel]] and [[de|Mittel]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Equally distant from the extremes: Old English ''middel'', in 785;^(Barnhart 1988) the OED's first example is before 900.^(OED 1989) The noun, the middle point, is also Old English, as is “the middle of the body, the waist”.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Middle finger'' is from late Old English.^(Etymonline) ''Middle brother'', “the second of three”, is from about 1205,^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline) and ''middle way'', “a path of moderation”, from about 1200.^(Etymonline) Of size, rank or quality, “intermediate, medium”, is from about 1374.^(OED 1989) ''Middle-sized'' is by the 1620s.^(Etymonline) The ''Middle States'' of the US, between New England and the South, are named from 1784.^(Etymonline) ''Middle school'' is from 1838, first “a school for middle-class children”, and for the grades between elementary and high school from 1960.^(Etymonline) ''Middle-of-the-road'', figuratively, is from 1894, first in politics,^(Etymonline) ''middle management'' by 1941, ''middle ground'' by 1961 and ''Middle America'' by 1968.^(Etymonline) The verb meant “to bisect” from 1703 and “to fold in the middle” in nautical use from 1841.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 785 – Old English ''middel''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1200 – ''middle way''.^(Etymonline)

+ * c. 1205 – ''middle brother''.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1374 – of size or rank, medium.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1703 – verb, to bisect.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1784 – the ''Middle States''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1838 – ''middle school''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1894 – ''middle-of-the-road''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1941 – ''middle management''.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Equally distant from extremes or limits; [[central]].^(AHD)^(SOED 2002)

+ # Intermediate; medium.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+ # Coming between an earlier and a later period: ''the Middle Ages''.^(AHD)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Of a voice of verbs in which the subject acts on itself.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A point or area equally distant from extremes; the [[centre]].^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+ # Something intermediate; a [[mean]].^(AHD)

+ # The middle part of the body; the waist.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To place in the middle; to fold in the middle.^(AHD)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[middlemost]]

+ * [[middler]]

+ * [[middle-aged]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mid-]]

+ * [[middling]]

+ * [[mid]]

+ * [[midst]]

+ * [[amid]]

+ * [[median]]

+ * [[medium]]

+ * [[mediate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}