mi English · revision 6123

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1450|origins=la mīrus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /miː/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-med|mi]], from the first syllable of [[la|mīra|t=wonders]], the word sung to this note in a hymn for Saint John the Baptist's day,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)^(NODE 1998) from [[m|la|mīrus|t=wonderful]] (see [[miracle]]).^(Barnhart 1988) The names of the notes of Guido d'Arezzo's hexachord come from the hymn's first syllables: Ut queant laxis resonare fibris, Mira gestorum famuli tuorum…^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The third note of the scale: before 1450 in Barnhart and MWU,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) before 1529 in the OED, which calls it the name Guido gave to the third note of his hexachords,^(OED 1989) and the 1520s in Etymonline.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the medieval hexachord the notes were [[ut]] (later [[do]]), [[re]], mi, fa, sol and la;^(Etymonline)^(Cresswell 2021) when the modern octave scale was set in the early 16th century, si was added.^(Etymonline) In the movable-doh system of tonic sol-fa mi is the third degree, the [[mediant]], of any major scale; in the fixed-doh system it is the note E.^(SOED 2002)^(Collins 2023) It is also spelled me.^(Collins 2023)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1450 – the third note of the scale.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 16th century – si added to the scale.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(music)'' The third note of the major scale in [[solfeggio]] or [[tonic sol-fa]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(music)'' In the fixed-doh system, the note E.^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[do-re-mi]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gamut]]

+ * [[do]]

+ * [[re]]

+ * [[fa]]

+ * [[sol]]

+ * [[la]]

+ * [[ti]]

+ * [[miracle]]

+ * [[solmization]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ As an abbreviation MI is Michigan or Military Intelligence, and mi. is mile.^(Collins 2023)^(AHD) In 18th-century colloquial use mi was also short for [[minor]].^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}