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mediocre

 - 3 dictionary results

me⋅di⋅o⋅cre

  [mee-dee-oh-ker]
Use mediocre in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of only ordinary or moderate quality; neither good nor bad; barely adequate.
2. rather poor or inferior.
Origin:
1580–90; < MF < L mediocris in a middle state, lit., at middle height = medi(us) mid 1 + OL ocris rugged mountain, c. Gk ókris, akin to ákros apex; cf. Umbrian ocar hill, citadel
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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me·di·o·cre   (mē'dē-ō'kər)   
adj.  Moderate to inferior in quality; ordinary. See Synonyms at average.

[French médiocre, from Latin mediocris : medius, middle; see medhyo- in Indo-European roots + ocris, a rugged mountain; see ak- in Indo-European roots.]
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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Word Origin & History

mediocre 
1586, from Fr. médiocre, from L. mediocris "of middling height or state," originally "halfway up a mountain," from medius "middle" (see medial) + ocris "jagged mountain" (cf. Gk. okris "peak, point," Welsh ochr "corner, border," L. acer "sharp;" see acrid). Mediocrity is first recorded 1531, from M.Fr. médiocrité, from L. mediocritatem (nom. mediocritas) "a middling condition," from mediocris.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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