See also: médius

English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from New Latin from Latin medius (middle). See medium. Doublet of minge and middle.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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medius (plural medii)

  1. (anatomy, dated) The middle finger.
    • 1876, Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion:
      An analysis of the determined cases shows that the index was the digit most frequently amputated, next the medius, next the ring finger, next the thumb, and lastly the little finger
    • 1945, Charlotte Wolff, A Psychology of Gesture:
      There is an interesting abnormality in finger length, the medius being especially long []

See also

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References

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Latin

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Etymology

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From Proto-Italic *meðjos, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (between). Cognate with Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos), Sanskrit मध्य (mádhya), Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬜𐬌𐬌𐬁𐬥𐬀 (maiδiiāna), Old Armenian մէջ (mēǰ), Persian میان (miân) and Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌹𐍃 (midjis).

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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medius (feminine media, neuter medium, comparative magis medius or medior, superlative medioximus); first/second-declension adjective

  1. middle, mid, the middle of, the midst of, central, between, midway between, in the center
    media pars corporis; medium corpusthe waist
    media noxmidnight
    media urbsthe middle of the city
    urbs mediathe middle city
    in mediās rēsinto the middle of things
    • 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.184–185:
      Nocte volat caelī mediō terraeque per umbram / strīdēns [...].
      [Rumor] flies between heaven and earth at night, shrill-sounding through the darkness.
  2. half
  3. moderate
  4. indifferent, undecided

Declension

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First/second-declension adjective.

Number Singular Plural
Case / Gender Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nominative medius media medium mediī mediae media
Genitive mediī mediae mediī mediōrum mediārum mediōrum
Dative mediō mediō mediīs
Accusative medium mediam medium mediōs mediās media
Ablative mediō mediā mediō mediīs
Vocative medie media medium mediī mediae media

Derived terms

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Descendants

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References

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  • medius”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • medius”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • medius in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
  • medius in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
    • the temperate zone: orbis medius
    • to rush into the midst of the foe: in medios hostes se inicere
    • to break through the enemy's centre: per medios hostes (mediam hostium aciem) perrumpere
    • (ambiguous) the Mediterranean Sea: mare medium or internum
    • (ambiguous) the middle ages: media quae vocatur aetas
    • (ambiguous) manhood: aetas constans, media, firmata, corroborata (not virilis)
    • (ambiguous) to become known, become a topic of common conversation (used of things): foras efferri, palam fieri, percrebrescere, divulgari, in medium proferri, exire, emanare
    • (ambiguous) elevated, moderate, plain style: genus dicendi grave or grande, medium, tenue (cf. Or. 5. 20; 6. 21)
    • (ambiguous) to bring a subject forward into discussion: in medium proferre aliquid
    • (ambiguous) to break off in the middle of the conversation: medium sermonem abrumpere (Verg. Aen. 4. 388)
    • (ambiguous) to be neutral: medium esse
    • (ambiguous) to be neutral: medium se gerere
    • (ambiguous) the centre of the marching column: agmen medium (Liv. 10. 41)
    • (ambiguous) the centre: media acies
  • medius”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray