Adjacent Words

Middle definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MIDDLE, a. mid'l. [L. medius.]
1. Equally distant from the extremes; as the middle point of a line or circle; the middle station of life. The middle path or course is most safe.
2. Intermediate; intervening.
Will, seeking good, finds many middle ends.
Middle ages, the ages or period of time about equally distant from the decline of the Roman empire and the revival of letters in Europe, or from the eighth to the fifteenth century of the christian era.
MID'DLE, n. The point or part equally distant from the extremities.
See, there come people down by the middle of the land. Judges 9.
1. The time that passes, or events that happen between the beginning and the end.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: being neither at the beginning nor at the end in a series; "adolescence is an awkward in-between age"; "in a mediate position"; "the middle point on a line" [syn: in-between, mediate, middle]
2: equally distant from the extremes [syn: center, halfway, middle, midway]
3: of a stage in the development of a language or literature between earlier and later stages; "Middle English is the English language from about 1100 to 1500"; "Middle Gaelic" [ant: early, late]
4: between an earlier and a later period of time; "in the middle years"; "in his middle thirties" [ant: early, late] n
1: an area that is approximately central within some larger region; "it is in the center of town"; "they ran forward into the heart of the struggle"; "they were in the eye of the storm" [syn: center, centre, middle, heart, eye]
2: an intermediate part or section; "A whole is that which has beginning, middle, and end"- Aristotle [ant: beginning, end]
3: the middle area of the human torso (usually in front); "young American women believe that a bare midriff is fashionable" [syn: middle, midriff, midsection]
4: time between the beginning and the end of a temporal period; "the middle of the war"; "rain during the middle of April" [ant: beginning, commencement, end, ending, first, get-go, kickoff, offset, outset, showtime, start, starting time] v
1: put in the middle

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English middel, from Old English; akin to Old English midde Date: before 12th century 1. equally distant from the extremes ; medial, central <the middle house in the row> 2. being at neither extreme ; intermediate 3. capitalized a. constituting a division intermediate between those prior and later or upper and lower <Middle Paleozoic> b. constituting a period of a language or literature intermediate between one called Old and one called New or Modern <Middle Dutch> 4. of a verb form or voice typically asserting that a person or thing both performs and is affected by the action represented II. noun Date: before 12th century 1. a middle part, point, or position 2. the central portion of the human body ; waist 3. the position of being among or in the midst of something <in the middle of the crowd> 4. something intermediate between extremes ; mean 5. the center of an offensive or defensive formation; especially the area between the second baseman and the shortstop

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., n., & v. --attrib.adj. 1 at an equal distance from the extremities of a thing. 2 (of a member of a group) so placed as to have the same number of members on each side. 3 intermediate in rank, quality, etc. 4 average (of middle height). 5 (of a language) of the period between the old and modern forms. 6 Gram. designating the voice of (esp. Greek) verbs that expresses reciprocal or reflexive action. --n. 1 (often foll. by of) the middle point or position or part. 2 a person's waist. 3 Gram. the middle form or voice of a verb. 4 = middle term. --v.tr. 1 place in the middle. 2 Football return (the ball) from the wing to the midfield. 3 Cricket strike (the ball) with the middle of the bat. 4 Naut. fold in the middle. Phrases and idioms: in the middle of (often foll. by verbal noun) in the process of; during. middle age the period between youth and old age, about 45 to 60. middle-aged in middle age. the Middle Ages the period of European history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West (5th c.) to the fall of Constantinople (1453), or more narrowly from c.1000 to 1453. middle-age (or -aged) spread the increased bodily girth often associated with middle age. Middle America 1 Mexico and Central America. 2 the middle class in the US, esp. as a conservative political force. middle C Mus. the C near the middle of the piano keyboard, the note between the treble and bass staves, at about 260 Hz. middle class the class of society between the upper and the lower, including professional and business workers and their families. middle-class adj. of the middle class. middle common room Brit. a common room for the use of graduate members of a college who are not Fellows. middle course a compromise between two extremes. middle distance 1 (in a painted or actual landscape) the part between the foreground and the background. 2 Athletics a race distance of esp. 400 or 800 metres. middle ear the cavity of the central part of the ear behind the drum. the Middle East the area covered by countries from Egypt to Iran inclusive. Middle Eastern of or in the Middle East. Middle English the English language from c.1150 to 1500. middle finger the finger next to the forefinger. middle game the central phase of a chess game, when strategies are developed. middle name 1 a person's name placed after the first name and before the surname. 2 a person's most characteristic quality (sobriety is my middle name). middle-of-the-road (of a person, course of action, etc.) moderate; avoiding extremes. middle passage the sea journey between W. Africa and the W. Indies (with ref. to the slave trade). middle school Brit. a school for children from about 9 to 13 years old. middle-sized of medium size. Middle Temple one of the two Inns of Court on the site of the Temple in London (cf. Inner Temple). middle term Logic the term common to both premisses of a syllogism. middle watch the watch from midnight to 4 a.m. middle way 1 = middle course. 2 the eightfold path of Buddhism between indulgence and asceticism. Middle West (in the US) the region adjoining the northern Mississippi. Etymology: OE middel f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Middle Mid"dle, a. [OE. middel, AS. middel; akin to D. middel, OHG. muttil, G. mittel. ????. See Mid, a.] 1. Equally distant from the extreme either of a number of things or of one thing; mean; medial; as, the middle house in a row; a middle rank or station in life; flowers of middle summer; men of middle age. 2. Intermediate; intervening. Will, seeking good, finds many middle ends. --Sir J. Davies. Note: Middle is sometimes used in the formation of selfexplaining compounds; as, middle-sized, middle-witted. Middle Ages, the period of time intervening between the decline of the Roman Empire and the revival of letters. Hallam regards it as beginning with the sixth and ending with the fifteenth century. Middle class, in England, people who have an intermediate position between the aristocracy and the artisan class. It includes professional men, bankers, merchants, and small landed proprietors The middle-class electorate of Great Britain. --M. Arnold. Middle distance. (Paint.) See Middle-ground. Middle English. See English, n., 2. Middle Kingdom, China. Middle oil (Chem.), that part of the distillate obtained from coal tar which passes over between 170[deg] and 230[deg] Centigrade; -- distinguished from the light, and the heavy or dead, oil. Middle passage, in the slave trade, that part of the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the West Indies. Middle post. (Arch.) Same as King-post. Middle States, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; which, at the time of the formation of the Union, occupied a middle position between the Eastern States (or New England) and the Southern States. [U.S.] Middle term (Logic), that term of a syllogism with which the two extremes are separately compared, and by means of which they are brought together in the conclusion. --Brande. Middle tint (Paint.), a subdued or neutral tint. --Fairholt. Middle voice. (Gram.) See under Voice. Middle watch, the period from midnight to four A. M.; also, the men on watch during that time. --Ham. Nav. Encyc. Middle weight, a pugilist, boxer, or wrestler classed as of medium weight, i. e., over 140 and not over 160 lbs., in distinction from those classed as light weights, heavy weights, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Middle Mid"dle, n. [AS. middel. See Middle, a.] The point or part equally distant from the extremities or exterior limits, as of a line, a surface, or a solid; an intervening point or part in space, time, or order of series; the midst; central portion; specif., the waist. --Chaucer. ``The middle of the land.'' --Judg. ix. 37. In this, as in most questions of state, there is a middle. --Burke. Syn: See Midst.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(middles) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. The middle of something is the part of it that is furthest from its edges, ends, or outside surface. Howard stood in the middle of the room sipping a cup of coffee... Hyde accelerated away from the kerb, swerving out into the middle of the street... Make sure the roast potatoes aren't raw in the middle. = centre the middle of nowhere: see nowhere N-COUNT: usu the N in sing, oft N of n 2. The middle object in a row of objects is the one that has an equal number of objects on each side. The middle button of his uniform jacket was strained over his belly. ...the middle finger of her left hand. ADJ: ADJ n 3. The middle of an event or period of time is the part that comes after the first part and before the last part. I woke up in the middle of the night and could hear a tapping on the window... It was now the middle of November, cold and often foggy... N-SING: the N of n • Middle is also an adjective. The month began and ended quite dry, but the middle fortnight saw nearly 100mm of rain fall nationwide. ADJ: ADJ n 4. The middle course or way is a moderate course of action that lies between two opposite and extreme courses. He favoured a middle course between free enterprise and state intervention... ADJ: ADJ n 5. If you divide or split something down the middle, you divide or split it into two equal halves or groups. They agreed to split the bill down the middle... = in half PHRASE: PHR after v 6. If you are in the middle of doing something, you are busy doing it. It's a bit hectic. I'm in the middle of cooking for nine people... PHRASE: v-link PHR -ing/n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Mean, medial, halfway, between the extremes. 2. Intermediate, intervening. II. n. 1. Midst, centre, central part. 2. Mean, something intermediate.

Moby Thesaurus

active, active voice, amidships, arbitrational, arbitrative, average, axial, axis, balance, bisect, center, center of action, center of gravity, center on, center round, centermost, central, centralize, centralized, centric, centroid, centroidal, centrosymmetric, centrum, coming between, concentrated, core, dead center, double, epicenter, equatorial, equidistant, fold, generality, geocentric, going between, golden mean, halfway, happy medium, heart, hub, intercessional, intercessory, intercurrent, interior, interjacent, interlocutory, intermedial, intermediary, intermediate, intermediatory, intervenient, intervening, interventional, juste-milieu, kernel, key, marrow, mean, medial, median, mediating, mediative, mediatorial, mediatory, medio-passive, mediocre, mediocrity, mediterranean, medium, medulla, mesial, mesne, metacenter, mezzo, mid, middle course, middle ground, middle point, middle position, middle state, middle voice, middle-of-the-road, middlemost, middling, midland, midmost, midpoint, midriff, midships, midst, midway, nave, navel, norm, normal, nub, nuclear, nucleus, omphalic, omphalos, pacificatory, par, passive, passive voice, pith, pivot, pivotal, reflexive, rule, run, stomach, storm center, umbilical, umbilicus, via media, voice, waist