medium

noun
/ˈmiː.di.əm/

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin medium, neuter of medius (“middle”), from Proto-Italic *meðjos, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between”). Compare middle. Doublet of mid, medio, media, and meson.

  1. derived from *médʰyos
  2. derived from *meðjos
  3. borrowed from medium

Definitions

  1. The material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a…

    The material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent.

  2. The materials or empty space through which signals, waves, or forces pass.

    • VVhether any other Liquours, being made Mediums, cauſe a Diuerſity of Sound from Water, it may bee tried: […]
    • He’s old and jealous, apt for ſuſpitions, ’gainſt which Tyrants ears Are never clos’d. The Prince is young, Fierce, and ambitious, I muſt bring together All theſe extreams, and then remove all Mediums, That each may be the others object.
  3. A format for communicating or presenting information.

  4. + 20 more definitions
    1. A nutrient substance, commonly a solution or solid, for the growth of cells in vitro.

    2. A substance, structure, or environment in which living organisms subsist, grow or are…

      A substance, structure, or environment in which living organisms subsist, grow or are cultured.

      • The density of the living medium of fishes exerts upon them a mechanical influence; they are, so to say, balanced in water, free to proceed in all planes of direction...
    3. A means, channel, agency or go-between through which communication, commerce, etc is…

      A means, channel, agency or go-between through which communication, commerce, etc is conveyed or carried on, or by which an aim is achieved.

      • Cable TV is an inexpensive advertising medium.
      • His loyalty to the English was doubtful and wavering, and his opposition to Post's journey was probably due to fears that his own importance as a medium between the Ohio Indians and the English would be diminished by the former's success.
    4. The materials used to finish a workpiece using a mass finishing or abrasive blasting…

      The materials used to finish a workpiece using a mass finishing or abrasive blasting process.

    5. A liquid base which carries pigment in paint.

    6. A means of expression, in the arts, such as a material (oil, pastel, clay, etc) or method…

      A means of expression, in the arts, such as a material (oil, pastel, clay, etc) or method or style (expressionism, jazz, etc).

      • Acrylics, oils, charcoal, and gouache are all mediums I used in my painting.
      • Heretofore in following the course, the student has been confined to black and white in the medium of charcoal, pen and ink or pencil. The first introduction to color is by means of the Still Life painting class.
      • It was the woodcut, however, that emerged as the favorite graphic medium of Expressionism. Rejecting the almost limitless pictorial possibilities of lithography, which had dominated printmaking during the nineteenth century, […]
    7. The mean or middle term of a syllogism, that by which the extremes are brought into…

      The mean or middle term of a syllogism, that by which the extremes are brought into connection.

    8. Someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world.

      • The hall was not too well lit and dark shadows lurked in the corners. The medium still bent her head as if her ears were straining.
    9. A middle place or degree.

      • a happy medium
      • [T]he Just Medium of This Case lies betwixt the Pride, and the Abjection of the Two Extreams.
      • Her height was pretty, […] her figure particularly graceful; her size a most becoming medium, between fat and thin, […]
    10. An average

      An average; sometimes the mathematical mean.

      • The number of Britiſh ſhips annually arriving in our ports vvas reduced to 1756 ſail, containing 92.559 tons, on a medium of the ſix years vvar, compared vvith the ſix years of peace preceding it.
    11. Anything of a middle rank or position.

      • Cavalry […] is divided into mediums, heavies, and light cavalry.
    12. One of several common sizes to which an item may be manufactured, smaller than a large…

      One of several common sizes to which an item may be manufactured, smaller than a large but larger than a small.

    13. An item labelled or denoted as being that size.

    14. One who fits an item of that size.

    15. A half-pint serving of Guinness (or other stout in some regions).

    16. Arithmetically average.

    17. Of intermediate size, degree, amount etc.

    18. Of meat, cooked to a point greater than rare but less than well done

      Of meat, cooked to a point greater than rare but less than well done; typically, so the meat is still red in the centre.

    19. That is medium (the manufactured size).

    20. To a medium extent.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at medium. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01medium02signals03signal04communication05transferred06transfer07vehicle

A definitional loop anchored at medium. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

7 hops · closes at medium

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA