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.
(not-comparable, noun-from-verb) Of intermediate size, degree, amount etc.
(not-comparable, noun-from-verb) Of meat, cooked to a point greater than rare but less than well done; typically, so the meat is still red in the centre.
(especially, not-comparable, noun-from-verb, qualifier:food or drink) That is medium (the manufactured size).
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.
Meanings
(not-comparable, noun-from-verb) To a medium extent.
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.
Meanings
(especially, noun-from-verb, qualifier:food or drink, uncountable) One of several common sizes to which an item may be manufactured, smaller than a large but larger than a small.
The material of the surrounding environment, e.g. solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent.
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: […] 1631, Francis [Bacon], “III. Century. [Experiments in Consort, Touching the Medium of Sounds.]”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], 3rd edition, London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC, paragraph 220, page 60:
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. 1641 (first performance), [John Denham], The Sophy. […], 2nd edition, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for H[enry] Herringman, […], published 1667, →OCLC, Act II, page 18:
(countable, especially, noun-from-verb, qualifier:food or drink) An item labelled or denoted as being that size.
A format for communicating or presenting information.
[A]t all events, she drank in with eager ear, and admiring mind, anecdote and history of all those excellent traits of disposition, and nobleness of conduct, which made him the idol of his describer, and gave her a knowledge of his temper and character, and the manner in which his boyhood and youth had passed, which she could never have gained by any other medium, and which it was unquestionably right she should know. 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter XLV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 272:
Too often writing—in the broadest sense—is treated as a communicational medium where the subjects of that communication are constituted prior to the writing, where the objects of that communication are also constituted prior to that writing, and where the task of writing is seen as transparently mediating between already pregiven subjects, pregiven objects, and a preconstituted mise en scène. 2015, “Staging the Politics of Difference: Homi Bhabha's Critical Literacy, Gary A. Olson and Lynn Worsham.”, in Gary A. Olson, Lynn Worsham, Henry A. Giroux, editors, Politics of Possibility: Encountering the Radical Imagination, page 133:
(countable, especially, noun-from-verb, with respect to clothing) One who fits an item of that size.
(Ireland, countable, dated, informal, noun-from-verb) A half-pint serving of Guinness (or other stout in some regions).
A nutrient substance, commonly a solution or solid, for the growth of cells in vitro.
In some instances one can take advantage of differential carbohydrate fermentation capabilities of microorganisms by incorporating one or more carbohydrates in the medium along with a suitable pH indicator. Such media are called differential media (e.g., eosin methylene blue or MacConkey agar) and are commonly used to isolate enteric bacilli. 1996, Samuel Baron, editor, Medical Microbiology:
(usually) 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... 1895, Bashford Dean., Fishes, Living and Fossil:
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. 2007, Reuben Gold Thwaites, Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Reprint Services Corporation, →ISBN, page 186:
The materials used to finish a workpiece using a mass finishing or abrasive blasting process.
(countable, qualifier:plural mediums or media) A liquid base which carries pigment in paint.
(qualifier:painting) A means of expression, in the arts, such as a material (oil, pastel, clay, etc) or method or style (expressionism, jazz, etc).
Prose is not the preferred medium of expressionism, yet some outstanding individual examples come to mind, for example: Robert Walser's (1876–1956) surrealistic miniatures and novels of a dreamlike structure reminiscent of Kafka […] 1974, Karl Siegfried Weimar, German Language and Literature: Seven Essays, Prentice Hall:
The Pulitzer board said the award was given “in recognition of his musical genius, which evoked aesthetically the principles of democracy through the medium of jazz and thus made an indelible contribution to art and culture.” 1999, Jet, page 29:
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. 1898, Report of the Public Schools of the State of Missouri, Missouri: Department of Education, page 98:
Acrylics, oils, charcoal, and gouache are all mediums I used in my painting.
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, […] 1966, John P. Sedgwick, Discovering Modern Art: The Intelligent Layman's Guide to Painting from Impressionism to Pop:
So we get a people in rebellion against a dominant majority, but forced to rebel secretly, to sublimate, as the psychologist would put it — to express themselves culturally through the medium of jaz , and linguistically through a code, a jargon ... 1967, Barnet Kottler, Martin Light, The World of Words: A Language Reader:
(countable) The mean or middle term of a syllogism, that by which the extremes are brought into connection.
(countable, qualifier:plural mediums or (rare, nonstandard) media) Someone who 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. 1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “Which Describes an Evening in Strange Company”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:
(countable) A middle place or degree.
[T]he Just Medium of This Case lies betwixt the Pride, and the Abjection of the Two Extreams. 1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Anianus, &c.] Fab[le] 215. An Oak and a Willow, Reflexion.”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […] R[ichard] Sare, […], →OCLC, page 188:
In search of the principle on which joints ought to be roasted, to be roasted enough, and not too much, I myself referred to the Cookery Book,[…]. But the principle always failed us by some curious fatality, and we never could hit any medium between redness and cinders. 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, “Our Housekeeping”, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 453:
Her height was pretty, […] her figure particularly graceful; her size a most becoming medium, between fat and thin, […] 1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter II, in Emma: […], volume II, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC, page 29:
a happy medium
(countable, dated) 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. 1769, [Edmund Burke], Observations on a Late State of the Nation, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 5:
Anything of a middle rank or position.
Cavalry […] is divided into mediums, heavies, and light cavalry. 1891, Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, The Historic Note-book: With an Appendix of Battles, page 153:
Forms
Spelling
Features
Labels
Source
mediums
Number=Plur
lexicographic
media
Number=Plur
lexicographic
Deriveds
mediumism (person claiming to convey information from the spirit world) · geomedium (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · postmedium (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · transmedium (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · differential medium (microbology) · warm-hot intergalactic medium (material or substance) · Czapek-Dox medium (microbology) · hot medium (format for communicating or presenting information) · happy medium (middle place or degree) · warm ionized medium (material or substance) · mediumistic (person claiming to convey information from the spirit world) · circulating medium (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · Czapek medium (microbology) · mediumize (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · Löwenstein-Jensen medium (microbology) · LJ medium (microbology) · multimedial (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · cryomedium (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · strike a medium (middle place or degree) · culture medium (microbology) · basal medium (microbology) · English-medium (format for communicating or presenting information) · transmission medium (format for communicating or presenting information) · mediumist (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · storage medium (format for communicating or presenting information) · plurimedial (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · intergalactic medium (material or substance) · polymedial (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · medium of instruction (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · mass medium (format for communicating or presenting information) · circumgalactic medium (material or substance) · mediumic (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · contrast medium (material or substance) · intermedium (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · mediumweight (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · medium of exchange (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · cool medium (format for communicating or presenting information) · social medium (format for communicating or presenting information) · multimedium (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · biomedium (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · minimal medium (microbology) · interplanetary medium (material or substance) · interstellar medium (material or substance) · growth medium (microbology) · hypermedium (others (unsorted, might be derived from adjective) · mediumship (person claiming to convey information from the spirit world)
nl medium (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · zh 媒體 /媒体 (format for communicating or presenting information) · sh mȇdīj (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · he אֶמְצָעִי (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · it mezzo (painting: tool or materials used for painting or drawing) · fi liuotin (liquid base which carries pigment in paint) · mi kauwaka (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · he אֶמְצָעִי (format for communicating or presenting information) · it mezzo (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · cmn 靈媒 /灵媒 (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · pl medium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · es mitad (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · pt médium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · cy cyfrwng (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · he מְתַוֵּךְ (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · gl médium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · bg среда́ (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · pt médio (logic: middle term of a syllogism) · uk середо́вище (nature of the surrounding environment) · ru ме́диум (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · de Medium (nature of the surrounding environment) · id perantara (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · de Medium (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · fr médium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · he מֶדְיוּם (person who fits medium items) · ro mediu (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · es médium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · bg среда́ (nature of the surrounding environment) · te మధ్యస్తం (format for communicating or presenting information) · he תָּוֶךְ (nature of the surrounding environment) · it tramite (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · pt meio (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · da medium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · pt mediador (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · da medium (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · ga spioradaí (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · fi keskikokoinen (person who fits medium items) · lv līdzeklis (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · mi matataketake (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · pt meio (nature of the surrounding environment) · ru среда́ (format for communicating or presenting information) · gd meadhan (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · sh ме̑дӣј (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · tl talaytayan (nature of the surrounding environment) · ga meán (nature of the surrounding environment) · fr support (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · mk сре́дина (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · et meedium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · ga meán (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · bg среда́ (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · ca medi (nature of the surrounding environment) · fi ravintoliuos (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · mk сре́дство (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · id cenayang (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · hi माध्यम (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · ga meán (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · hi माध्यम (format for communicating or presenting information) · fi keskimäärä (average; sometimes the mathematical mean) · fi keskiarvo (average; sometimes the mathematical mean) · uk за́сіб (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · te మాధ్యమము (nature of the surrounding environment) · ga meán (painting: tool or materials used for painting or drawing) · it tramite (nature of the surrounding environment) · it mezzo (nature of the surrounding environment) · ca medi (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · de Medium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · da medium (format for communicating or presenting information) · cs médium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · ru сре́дство (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · pt médio (the size medium) · fr média (format for communicating or presenting information) · it mezzo (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · fi puolikas (half-pint serving) · fr médium (format for communicating or presenting information) · ga meán (middle place or degree) · mk сре́дина (nature of the surrounding environment) · mi wawaenga (item of the size medium) · it strumento (nature of the surrounding environment) · it veicolo (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · he מְתַוֵּךְ (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · fi väliaine (nature of the surrounding environment) · ca mitjà (format for communicating or presenting information) · ro mijloc (format for communicating or presenting information) · fi kasvatusalusta (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · ru среда́ (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · ru среда́ (nature of the surrounding environment) · ru среда́ (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · fi keskikokoinen (item of the size medium) · hi माध्यम (nature of the surrounding environment) · fi media (format for communicating or presenting information) · ga meánábhar (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · cmn 媒介 (painting: tool or materials used for painting or drawing) · he תָּוֶךְ (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · nl medium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · eo mediumo (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · fi väliaine (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · da middel (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · bg сре́дство (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · pt meio (format for communicating or presenting information) · mi aho (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · it medium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · fr milieu (nature of the surrounding environment) · ro mijloc (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · it strumento (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · ga meán (format for communicating or presenting information) · ka საშუალება (format for communicating or presenting information) · he מֶדְיוּם (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · ca mèdium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · be асяро́ддзе (nature of the surrounding environment) · ro medie (average; sometimes the mathematical mean) · fr milieu (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · fi elatusaine (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · hu közeg (nature of the surrounding environment) · fi tiedotusväline (format for communicating or presenting information) · bg ме́диум (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · ro mediu (nature of the surrounding environment) · hu médium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · hi माध्यम (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · es medio (format for communicating or presenting information) · ga meán (engineering: materials used to finish a workpiece) · fi alipremissi (logic: middle term of a syllogism) · de Medium (format for communicating or presenting information) · it tramite (painting: tool or materials used for painting or drawing) · bn মারফত (nature of the surrounding environment) · es vehículo (format for communicating or presenting information) · fi väline (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · mi rawatoi (painting: tool or materials used for painting or drawing) · fi puoliväli (middle place or degree) · fi keino (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved) · fi meedio (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · fr médium (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · fr moyen (item of the size medium) · it veicolo (painting: tool or materials used for painting or drawing) · ja 霊媒 (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · be асяро́ддзе (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · fi viestin (format for communicating or presenting information) · ga idirmheán (format for communicating or presenting information) · mk ме́диум (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · it veicolo (nature of the surrounding environment) · fo miðil (format for communicating or presenting information) · tl talaytayan (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · ro medium (someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world) · pt média (average; sometimes the mathematical mean) · cs médium (format for communicating or presenting information) · ga meánábhar (format for communicating or presenting information) · it strumento (painting: tool or materials used for painting or drawing) · uk середо́вище (material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass) · pt médio (nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro) · es medio (nature of the surrounding environment) · ru носи́тель (means, channel or agency by which an aim is achieved)