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Mediterranean

 - 6 dictionary results

Med⋅i⋅ter⋅ra⋅ne⋅an

[med-i-tuh-rey-nee-uhn]
–noun
1. Mediterranean Sea.
2. a person whose physical characteristics are considered typical of the peoples native to or inhabiting the Mediterranean area.
3. the, Informal. the islands and countries of the Mediterranean Sea collectively.
–adjective
4. pertaining to, situated on or near, or dwelling about the Mediterranean Sea.
5. pertaining to or characteristic of the peoples native to the lands along or near the Mediterranean Sea.
6. surrounded or nearly surrounded by land.

Origin:
1585–95; < L mediterrāne(us) midland, inland (see medium, terra, -an, -eous ) + -an

Mediterranean Sea

–noun
a sea surrounded by Africa, Europe, and Asia. 2400 mi. (3865 km) long; 1,145,000 sq. mi. (2,965,550 sq. km); greatest known depth 14,436 ft. (4400 m).
Also called Mediterranean.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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med·i·ter·ra·ne·an   (měd'ĭ-tə-rā'nē-ən, -rān'yən)   
adj.  Surrounded nearly or completely by dry land. Used of large bodies of water, such as lakes or seas.

[Latin mediterrāneus, inland : medius, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots + terra, land; see ters- in Indo-European roots.]
Med·i·ter·ra·ne·an   (měd'ĭ-tə-rā'nē-ən)   
The region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. Several important ancient civilizations flourished in the region, which was dominated for millennia by Phoenicia, Carthage, Greece, Sicily, and Rome.
Med'i·ter·ra'ne·an adj. & n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

Mediterranean Sea

Sea surrounded by Europe, Asia, and Africa.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Mediterranean 
c.1400, from L.L. Mediterraneum mare "Mediterranean Sea" (7c.), from L. mediterraneus "midland;" original sense being of "sea in the middle of the earth," from medius "middle" + terra "land, earth." The O.E. name was Wendel-sæ, so called for the Vandals, Gmc. tribe that settled on the southwest coast of it after the fall of Rome.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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