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9 dictionary results for: medium
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
me·di·um       [mee-dee-uhm] Pronunciation Key noun, plural -di·a       [-dee-uh] Pronunciation Key for 1–9, 11, -di·ums for 1–11, 14, adjective
–noun
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.
a.Painting. a liquid with which pigments are mixed.
b.the material or technique with which an artist works: the medium of watercolor.
12.a size of printing paper, 181/2 × 231/2 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, 171/2 × 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.
–adjective
16.about halfway between extremes, as of degree, amount, quality, position, or size: Cook over medium heat. He is of medium height.
[Origin: 1575–85; < L: the middle, n. use of neut. of medius middle. See mid1]

—Synonyms 16. average, mean, middling.
—Usage note 7. See media1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
me·di·um       (mē'dē-əm)  Pronunciation Key 
n.   pl. me·di·a (-dē-ə) or me·di·ums
  1. Something, such as an intermediate course of action, that occupies a position or represents a condition midway between extremes.
  2. An intervening substance through which something else is transmitted or carried on.
  3. An agency by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or transferred: The train was the usual medium of transportation in those days.
  4. pl. media Usage Problem
    1. A means of mass communication, such as newpapers, magazines, radio, or television.
    2. media (used with a sing. or pl. verb) The group of journalists and others who constitute the communications industry and profession.
    3. A surrounding environment in which something functions and thrives.
    4. The substance in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
    5. A culture medium.
    6. 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.
    7. The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.
  5. pl. media Computer Science An object or device, such as a disk, on which data is stored.
  6. 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.
  7. pl. media
    1. A surrounding environment in which something functions and thrives.
    2. The substance in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
    3. A culture medium.
    4. 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.
    5. The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.
    1. 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.
    2. The materials used in a specific artistic technique: oils as a medium.
  9. A solvent with which paint is thinned to the proper consistency.
  10. Chemistry A filtering substance, such as filter paper.
  11. 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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
medium  (n.)
1584, "a middle ground, quality, or degree," from L. medium, from neut. of adj. medius (see medial). Meaning "intermediate agency, channel of communication" is from 1605. That of "person who conveys spiritual messages" first recorded 1853, from notion of "substance through which something is conveyed." Artistic sense (oil, watercolors, etc.) is from 1854. The adj. is 1670, from the noun; as a designation of cooked meat, it is attested from 1939. Happy medium is the "golden mean," Horace's aurea mediocritas.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
medium

adjective
1. around the middle of a scale of evaluation; "an orange of average size"; "intermediate capacity"; "medium bombers" [syn: average] 
2. (meat) cooked until there is just a little pink meat inside 

noun
1. a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information 
2. the surrounding environment; "fish require an aqueous medium" 
3. an intervening substance through which signals can travel as a means for communication 
4. (bacteriology) a nutrient substance (solid or liquid) that is used to cultivate micro-organisms [syn: culture medium] 
5. a liquid with which pigment is mixed by a painter 
6. (biology) a substance in which specimens are preserved or displayed 
7. an intervening substance through which something is achieved; "the dissolving medium is called a solvent" 
8. a state that is intermediate between extremes; a middle position; "a happy medium" 
9. someone who serves as an intermediary between the living and the dead; "he consulted several mediums" 
10. (usually plural) transmissions that are disseminated widely to the public 
11. an occupation for which you are especially well suited; "in law he found his true metier" [syn: metier] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This

medium

see happy medium.


The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
medium       (mē'dē-əm)  Pronunciation Key 
Plural media
  1. A substance, such as agar, in which bacteria or other microorganisms are grown for scientific purposes.
  2. 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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

medium me·di·um (mē'dē-əm)
n. pl. me·di·ums or me·di·a (-dē-ə)

  1. Something, such as an intermediate course of action, that occupies a position or represents a condition midway between extremes.
  2. An intervening substance through which something else is transmitted or carried on.
  3. An agency by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or transferred.
  4. The substance, often nutritive, in which a specific organism lives and thrives.
  5. A culture medium.
  6. A filtering substance, such as filter paper.
adj.
Occurring or being between two degrees, amounts, or quantities; intermediate.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Medium

Me"di*um\, n.; pl. L. Media, E. Mediums. [L. medium the middle, fr. medius middle. See Mid, and cf. Medius.]

1. That which lies in the middle, or between other things; intervening body or quantity. Hence, specifically: (a) Middle place or degree; mean.

The just medium . . . lies between pride and abjection. --L'Estrange. (b) (Math.) See Mean. (c) (Logic) The mean or middle term of a syllogism; that by which the extremes are brought into connection.

2. A substance through which an effect is transmitted from one thing to another; as, air is the common medium of sound. Hence: The condition upon which any event or action occurs; necessary means of motion or action; that through or by which anything is accomplished, conveyed, or carried on; specifically, in animal magnetism, spiritualism, etc., a person through whom the action of another being is said to be manifested and transmitted.

Whether any other liquors, being made mediums, cause a diversity of sound from water, it may be tried. --Bacon.

I must bring together All these extremes; and must remove all mediums. --Denham.

3. An average. [R.]

A medium of six years of war, and six years of peace. --Burke.

4. A trade name for printing and writing paper of certain sizes. See Paper.

5. (Paint.) The liquid vehicle with which dry colors are ground and prepared for application.

Circulating medium, a current medium of exchange, whether coin, bank notes, or government notes.

Ethereal medium (Physics), the ether.

Medium of exchange, that which is used for effecting an exchange of commodities -- money or current representatives of money.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Medium

Me"di*um\, a. Having a middle position or degree; mean; intermediate; medial; as, a horse of medium size; a decoction of medium strength.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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