(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.
–adjective
3.
pertaining to or concerned with such means: a job in media research.
—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.
Me·di·aAudio Help (mē'dē-ə) Pronunciation Key
An ancient country of southwest Asia in present-day northwest Iran. Settled by an Indo-European people, it became part of the Assyrian Empire and was conquered c. 550 B.C. by Cyrus the Great, who added it to the Persian Empire.
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 train was the usual medium of transportation in those days.
pl.mediaUsage Problem
A means of mass communication, such as newpapers, magazines, radio, or television.
media(used with a sing. or pl. verb) The group of journalists and others who constitute the communications industry and profession.
A surrounding environment in which something functions and thrives.
The substance in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
A culture medium.
A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved: the medium of lithography.
The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.
pl.mediaComputer Science An object or device, such as a disk, on which data is stored.
pl.mediums A person thought to have the power to communicate with the spirits of the dead or with agents of another world or dimension. Also called psychic.
pl.media
A surrounding environment in which something functions and thrives.
The substance in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
A culture medium.
A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved: the medium of lithography.
The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.
A specific kind of artistic technique or means of expression as determined by the materials used or the creative methods involved: the medium of lithography.
The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.
A solvent with which paint is thinned to the proper consistency.
Chemistry A filtering substance, such as filter paper.
A size of paper, usually 18 × 23 inches or 17 1/2 × 22 inches.
adj.
Occurring or being between two degrees, amounts, or quantities; intermediate: broil a medium steak. See Synonyms at average.
[Latin, from neuter of medius, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots.]
Usage Note: The etymologically plural form media is often used as a singular to refer to a particular means of communication, as in The Internet is the most exciting new media since television. Many people regard this usage as incorrect, preferring medium in such contexts. · People also use media with the definite article as a collective term to refer not to the forms of communication themselves so much as the communities and institutions behind them. In this sense, the media means something like "the press." Like other collective nouns, it may take a singular or plural verb depending on the intended meaning. If the point is to emphasize the multifaceted nature of the press, a plural verb may be more appropriate: The media have covered the trial in a variety of formats. Frequently, however, media stands as a singular noun for the aggregate of journalists and broadcasters: The media has not shown much interest in covering the trial. This development of a singular media parallels that of more established words such as data and agenda, which are also Latin plurals that have acquired a singular meaning. · The singular medium cannot be used as a collective noun for the press. The sentence No medium has shown much interest in covering the issue, would suggest that the lack of interest is in the means of communication itself rather than in its practitioners.
"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.
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.
Main Entry: 2me·dia Pronunciation: 'mEd-E-& Function: noun Inflected Form: pluralme·di·ae/-E-"E/ : the middle coat of the wall of a blood or lymph vessel consisting chiefly of circular muscle fibers called also tunica media
Media, IL (village, FIPS 48073) Location: 40.77266 N, 90.83396 W Population (1990): 146 (56 housing units) Area: 4.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 61460
Media, PA (borough, FIPS 48480) Location: 39.91953 N, 75.38884 W Population (1990): 5957 (3023 housing units) Area: 1.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Me"di*a\, n.; pl. Medi[ae] (-[=e]). [NL., fr. L. medius middle.] (Phonetics) One of the sonant mutes [beta], [delta], [gamma] (b, d, g), in Greek, or of their equivalents in other languages, so named as intermediate between the tenues, [pi], [tau], [kappa] (p, t, k), and the aspirat[ae] (aspirates) [phi], [theta], [chi] (ph or f, th, ch). Also called middle mute, or medial, and sometimes soft mute.
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.