| 1. | a pl. of medium. |
| 2. | (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. |
| 3. | pertaining to or concerned with such means: a job in media research. |
m]
noun, plural -di⋅a [-dee-uh]
for 1–9, 11, -di⋅ums for 1–11, 14, adjective | 1. | a middle state or condition; mean. |
| 2. | something intermediate in nature or degree. |
| 3. | an intervening substance, as air, through which a force acts or an effect is produced. |
| 4. | the element that is the natural habitat of an organism. |
| 5. | surrounding objects, conditions, or influences; environment. |
| 6. | an intervening agency, means, or instrument by which something is conveyed or accomplished: Words are a medium of expression. |
| 7. | one of the means or channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio, or television. |
| 8. | Biology. the substance in which specimens are displayed or preserved. |
| 9. | 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.
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| 12. | a size of printing paper, 18 1/2 × 23 1/2 in. (47 × 60 cm) in England, 18 × 23 to 19 × 25 in. (46 × 58 to 48 × 64 cm) in America. |
| 13. | Chiefly British. a size of drawing or writing paper, 17 1/2 × 22 in. (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. |
| 16. | about halfway between extremes, as of degree, amount, quality, position, or size: Cook over medium heat. He is of medium height. |
me·di·a 2 (mē'dē-ə) n.
[Late Latin, from Latin, feminine of Latin medius, middle; see medium.] |
me·di·um (mē'dē-əm) n. pl. me·di·a (-dē-ə) or me·di·ums
[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. |
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.
Media
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.