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Middle

/[ˈmɨdl̩]/ adj, name, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Located in the middle; in between. no-comparative

    "the middle point"

  2. 2
    Central. no-comparative
  3. 3
    Pertaining to the middle voice. no-comparative
Adjective
  1. 1
    equally distant from the extremes wordnet
  2. 2
    between an earlier and a later period of time wordnet
  3. 3
    of a stage in the development of a language or literature between earlier and later stages wordnet
  4. 4
    being neither at the beginning nor at the end in a series wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A sheading of the Isle of Man.
Noun
  1. 1
    A centre, midpoint.

    "The middle of a circle is the point which has the same distance to every point of circle."

  2. 2
    the middle area of the human torso (usually in front) wordnet
  3. 3
    The part between the beginning and the end.

    "I woke up in the middle of the night."

  4. 4
    an intermediate part or section wordnet
  5. 5
    The middle stump.
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    an area that is approximately central within some larger region wordnet
  2. 7
    The central part of a human body; the waist.

    "If I have a diet plan and stick to it, it is easy for me to have control over my middle."

  3. 8
    the point between the beginning and the end of a temporal period or process wordnet
  4. 9
    The middle voice.
  5. 10
    the center of the political spectrum.

    "As part of his successful re-election strategy, Clinton began governing from the middle."

Verb
  1. 1
    To take a middle view of. obsolete, transitive

    "And now, to middle the matter between both, it is pity, that the man they favour has not that sort of merit which a person of a mind so delicate as that of Miss Harlowe might reasonably expect in a husband."

  2. 2
    put in the middle wordnet
  3. 3
    To double (a rope) into two equal portions; to fold in the middle. obsolete, transitive
  4. 4
    To strike (the ball) with the middle portion of the face of the bat. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English middel, from Old English middel (“middle, centre, waist”), from Proto-Germanic *midlą, *midilą, *medalą (“middle”), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *midjō (“middle, midst”) (compare *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective)), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Middel (“middle”), West Frisian mul (“middle”), Dutch middel (“means; medicine, cure”), German mittel (“middle”, adjective), Mittel (“means; medicament, remedy”, noun), Luxembourgish Mëttel (“means, method; medicament”), Vilamovian mytuł (“middle”), Yiddish מיטל (mitl, “middle”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk middel (“means”), Icelandic meðal (“average; means, medicine”), Swedish medel (“average, mean, middle”). See also mid.

Etymology 2

From Middle English middel, from Old English middel (“middle, centre, waist”), from Proto-Germanic *midlą, *midilą, *medalą (“middle”), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *midjō (“middle, midst”) (compare *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective)), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Middel (“middle”), West Frisian mul (“middle”), Dutch middel (“means; medicine, cure”), German mittel (“middle”, adjective), Mittel (“means; medicament, remedy”, noun), Luxembourgish Mëttel (“means, method; medicament”), Vilamovian mytuł (“middle”), Yiddish מיטל (mitl, “middle”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk middel (“means”), Icelandic meðal (“average; means, medicine”), Swedish medel (“average, mean, middle”). See also mid.

Etymology 3

From Middle English middel, from Old English middel (“middle, centre, waist”), from Proto-Germanic *midlą, *midilą, *medalą (“middle”), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *midjō (“middle, midst”) (compare *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective)), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Middel (“middle”), West Frisian mul (“middle”), Dutch middel (“means; medicine, cure”), German mittel (“middle”, adjective), Mittel (“means; medicament, remedy”, noun), Luxembourgish Mëttel (“means, method; medicament”), Vilamovian mytuł (“middle”), Yiddish מיטל (mitl, “middle”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk middel (“means”), Icelandic meðal (“average; means, medicine”), Swedish medel (“average, mean, middle”). See also mid.

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