media

noun

a plural of medium.

( usually used with a plural verb ) the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely: The media are covering the speech tonight.

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adjective

pertaining to or concerned with such means: a job in media research.

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Media is always a great word to know.

So is slumgullion. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

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Usage note
Media, like data, is the plural form of a word borrowed directly from Latin. The singular, medium, early developed the meaning “an intervening agency, means, or instrument” and was first applied to newspapers two centuries ago. In the 1920s media began to appear as a singular collective noun, sometimes with the plural medias. This singular use is now common in the fields of mass communication and advertising, but it is not frequently found outside them: The media is (or are) not antibusiness.

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun, plural me·di·ae

[-dee-ee] .

Greek Grammar. a voiced plosive, as β, δ, γ.

Anatomy. the middle layer of an artery or lymphatic vessel.

Entomology. a longitudinal vein in the middle portion of the wing of an insect.

Origin:
1835–45; < Late Latin (grammar sense only), noun use of feminine singular of Latin medius central, mid¹

noun

an ancient country in W Asia, S of the Caspian Sea, corresponding generally to NW Iran. Capital: Ecbatana.

noun

a middle state or condition; mean.

something intermediate in nature or degree.

an intervening substance, as air, through which a force acts or an effect is produced.

the element that is the natural habitat of an organism.

surrounding objects, conditions, or influences; environment.

an intervening agency, means, or instrument by which something is conveyed or accomplished: Words are a medium of expression.

one of the means or channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio, or television.

Biology. the substance in which specimens are displayed or preserved.

Also called culture medium. Bacteriology. a liquid or solidified nutrient material suitable for the cultivation of microorganisms.

10.

a person through whom the spirits of the dead are alleged to be able to contact the living.

11.

Fine Arts.

Painting. a liquid with which pigments are mixed.

the material or technique with which an artist works: the medium of watercolor.

12.

a size of printing paper, 18½ × 23½ inches (47 × 60 cm) in England, 18 × 23 to 19 × 25 inches (46 × 58 to 48 × 64 cm) in America.

13.

Chiefly British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 17½ × 22 inches (44 × 56 cm).

14.

Also called medium strip. Midland U.S. median strip.

15.

in medium, Movies, Television. with the principal actors in the middle distance: The scene was shot in medium.

adjective

16.

about halfway between extremes, as of degree, amount, quality, position, or size: Cook over medium heat. He is of medium height.

Origin:
1575–85; < Latin: the middle, noun use of neuter of medius middle. See mid¹

Can be confused: media, median, medium, mediums (see usage note at media).

Synonyms
16. average, mean, middling.

Usage note
7. See media¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To Media

Collins

World English Dictionary

media¹ (ˈmiːdɪə)

—n
1.	a plural of medium
2.	the means of communication that reach large numbers of people, such as television, newspapers, and radio

—*adj*
3.	of or relating to the mass media: media hype

usage When media refers to the mass media, it is sometimes treated as a singular form, as in: the media has shown great interest in these events. Many people think this use is incorrect and that media should always be treated as a plural form: the media have shown great interest in these events

media² (ˈmɛdɪə)

—n , pl -diae
1.	the middle layer of the wall of a blood or lymph vessel
2.	one of the main veins in the wing of an insect
3.	phonetics
	a. a consonant whose articulation lies midway between that of a voiced and breathed speech sound
	b. a consonant pronounced with weak voice, as c in French second

[C19: from Latin medius middle]

Media (ˈmiːdɪə)

—n
	an ancient country of SW Asia, south of the Caspian Sea: inhabited by the Medes; overthrew the Assyrian Empire in 612 bc in alliance with Babylonia; conquered by Cyrus the Great in 550 bc; corresponds to present-day NW Iran

medium (ˈmiːdɪəm)

—*adj*
1.	midway between extremes; average: a medium size
2.	light Compare dark (of a colour) reflecting or transmitting a moderate amount of light: a medium red

—n , -dia, -diums
3.	an intermediate or middle state, degree, or condition; mean: the happy medium
4.	an intervening substance or agency for transmitting or producing an effect; vehicle: air is a medium for sound
5.	a means or agency for communicating or diffusing information, news, etc, to the public: television is a powerful medium
6.	a person supposedly used as a spiritual intermediary between the dead and the living
7.	the substance in which specimens of animals and plants are preserved or displayed
8.	biology short for culture medium
9.	the substance or surroundings in which an organism naturally lives or grows
10.	art
	a. the category of a work of art, as determined by its materials and methods of production: the medium of wood engraving
	b. the materials used in a work of art
11.	any solvent in which pigments are mixed and thinned
12.	any one of various sizes of writing or printing paper, esp 18½ by 23½ inches or 17½ by 22 inches (small medium)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

media

"newspapers, radio, TV, etc." 1927, perhaps abstracted from mass media (1923, a technical term in advertising), pl. of medium, on notion of "intermediate agency," a sense first found 1605.

medium

1584, "a middle ground, quality, or degree," from L. medium, from neut. of adj. medius (see medial). Meaning "intermediate agency, channel of communication" is from 1605. That of "person who conveys spiritual messages" first recorded 1853, from notion of "substance through

which something is conveyed." Artistic sense (oil, watercolors, etc.) is from 1854. The adj. is 1670, from the noun; as a designation of cooked meat, it is attested from 1939. Happy medium is the "golden mean," Horace's aurea mediocritas.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

media me·di·a¹ (mē'dē-ə)
n.
A plural of medium.

media ²
n.
The tunica media.

medium me·di·um (mē'dē-əm)
n. pl. me·di·ums or me·di·a (-dē-ə)

Something, such as an intermediate course of action, that occupies a position or represents a condition midway between extremes.
An intervening substance through which something else is transmitted or carried on.
An agency by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or transferred.
The substance, often nutritive, in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
A culture medium.
A filtering substance, such as filter paper.

adj.
Occurring or being between two degrees, amounts, or quantities; intermediate.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

medium

(mē'dē-əm) Pronunciation Key
Plural media

A substance, such as agar, in which bacteria or other microorganisms are grown for scientific purposes.
A substance that makes possible the transfer of energy from one location to another, especially through waves. For example, matter of sufficient density can be a medium for sound waves, which transfer mechanical energy. See more at wave.

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

media definition

1. Any kind of data including graphics, images, audio and video, though typically excluding raw text or executable code.
The term multimedia suggests a collection of different types of media or the ability to handle such collections.
2. The physical object on which data is stored, as opposed to the device used to read and write it.
3. The object at the physical layer that carries data, typically an electrical or optical cable, though, in a wireless network, the term refers to the space through which radio waves propagate. Most often used in the context of Media Access Control (MAC).
(2010-01-07)

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Media definition

Heb. Madai, which is rendered in the Authorized Version (1) "Madai," Gen. 10:2; (2) "Medes," 2 Kings 17:6; 18:11; (3) "Media," Esther 1:3; 10:2; Isa. 21:2; Dan. 8:20; (4) "Mede," only in Dan. 11:1. We first hear of this people in the Assyrian cuneiform records, under the name of Amada, about B.C. 840. They appear to have been a branch of the Aryans, who came from the east bank of the Indus, and were probably the predominant race for a while in the Mesopotamian valley. They consisted for three or four centuries of a number of tribes, each ruled by its own chief, who at length were brought under the Assyrian yoke (2 Kings 17:6). From this subjection they achieved deliverance, and formed themselves into an empire under Cyaxares (B.C. 633). This monarch entered into an alliance with the king of Babylon, and invaded Assyria, capturing and destroying the city of Nineveh (B.C. 625), thus putting an end to the Assyrian monarchy (Nah. 1:8; 2:5,6; 3:13, 14). Media now rose to a place of great power, vastly extending its boundaries. But it did not long exist as an independent kingdom. It rose with Cyaxares, its first king, and it passed away with him; for during the reign of his son and successor Astyages, the Persians waged war against the Medes and conquered them, the two nations being united under one monarch, Cyrus the Persian (B.C. 558). The "cities of the Medes" are first mentioned in connection with the deportation of the Israelites on the destruction of Samaria (2 Kings 17:6; 18:11). Soon afterwards Isaiah (13:17; 21:2) speaks of the part taken by the Medes in the destruction of Babylon (comp. Jer. 51:11, 28). Daniel gives an account of the reign of Darius the Mede, who was made viceroy by Cyrus (Dan. 6:1-28). The decree of Cyrus, Ezra informs us (6:2-5), was found in "the palace that is in the province of the Medes," Achmetha or Ecbatana of the Greeks, which is the only Median city mentioned in Scripture.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Example sentences

The show contains a wide range of media and unique interpretations of

portraiture.

It's the sort of figure that grabs media headlines, but it also exaggerates the

depth of the relationship.

Some of the innuendo had appeared in coverage by the mainstream media.

Consuming media in a social environment can mitigate its negative effects.