Etymology : Middle English middel, from Old English; akin to Old English midde
Pronunciation : mi-d
&l
Function : adjective
Date : before 12th century
1. center point between two extremes; intermediate period; mean; half. central; equally distant from two extremes, halfway; mean; mediocre. middle\mid"dle\ , a. [oe. middel, as. middel; akin to d. middel, ohg. muttil, g. mittel. . see:
mid, a.].
2. 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.
3. intermediate; intervening. will, seeking good, finds many middle ends. 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. 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° and 230° 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.middle tint (paint.), a subdued or neutral tint.middle voice. (gram.) see:
under voice.middle watch, the period from midnight to four a. m.; also, the men on watch during that time. am. 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.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. "the middle of the land." ix.
4. in this, as in most questions of state, there is a middle.
5. 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.
6. Intermediate; intervening.
7. 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 the waist. the middle area of the human torso ; "young American women believe that a bare midriff is fashionable" an intermediate part or section; "A whole is that which has beginning, middle, and end"- Aristotle time between the beginning and the end of a temporal period; "the middle of the war"; "rain during the middle of April" put in the middle between an earlier and a later period of time; "in the middle years"; "in his middle thirties" 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".
8. 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. the middle of nowhere: see:
nowhere = centre.
9. 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.
10. 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 Middle is also an adjective. The month began and ended quite dry, but the middle fortnight saw nearly 100mm of rain fall nationwide.
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. 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. Middle West Middle Congo Middle Stone Age Middle Ages Middle East Middle English Middle East Treaty Organization.