[mee-dee-uh
n] 
| 1. | noting or pertaining to a plane dividing something into two equal parts, esp. one dividing an animal into right and left halves. |
| 2. | situated in or pertaining to the middle; medial. |
| 3. | Arithmetic, Statistics. the middle number in a given sequence of numbers, taken as the average of the two middle numbers when the sequence has an even number of numbers: 4 is the median of 1, 3, 4, 8, 9. |
| 4. | Geometry. a straight line from a vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side. |
| 5. | Also called midpoint. a vertical line that divides a histogram into two equal parts. Compare central tendency. |
| 6. | median strip. |
| a paved, planted, or landscaped strip in the center of a highway that separates lanes of traffic going in opposite directions. |
| Me·di·a (mē'dē-ə) 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. Me'di·an adj. & n. |
| me·di·an (mē'dē-ən) adj.
[Latin mediānus, from medius, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots.] me'di·an·ly adv. |
| median strip n. Eastern, Midwestern, & Southern U.S. The dividing area, either paved or landscaped, between opposing lanes of traffic on some highways. Also called median; also called regionally boulevard, mall1, medial strip, meridian, neutral ground. See Regional Note at neutral ground. |
The point in a series at which half of the values or units of the series are higher and half lower.
In statistics, the middle value of a set of numbers or data points; half the figures will fall below the median and half above. (See average; compare mean and mode.)
Median
The midpoint of the range numbers that are arranged in order of value.
Investopedia Commentary
If there are an even amount of numbers in the series, the median is found by taking the mean of the two numbers in the middle of the distribution. 50% of the numbers will be above the median and 50% will be below. In this odd set of numbers--1, 3, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 8,12, 13, 25--the median would be 6 because half of the other numbers are below it, and half are above it. Alternatively if you had the following set of numbers--23 23 24 25 26 28 42 44--the median would be 25.5 (26+25/2=25.5).
In certain cases, the median can be a good way to determine an approximate average, especially when dealing with a set of numbers that could otherwise be skewed by outliers, such as the number 25 in the first set.
See also: Arithmetic Mean Average, Distribution, Harmonic Average, Kurtosis, Moving Average, Skewness
median me·di·an (mē'dē-ən)
adj.
Relating to, located in, or extending toward the middle.
Of, relating to, or situated in or near the plane that divides a bilaterally symmetrical animal into right and left halves; mesial.
Of, relating to, or constituting the middle value in a distribution.
A median point, plane, line, or part.
The middle value in a distribution, above and below which lie an equal number of values.
median (mē'dē-ən) Pronunciation Key
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