middle

Meanings

Noun

• A centre, midpoint.
• The part between the beginning and the end.
• The middle stump.
• The central part of a human body; the waist.
• The middle voice.

Adjective

• Located in the middle; in between.
• Central.
• Pertaining to the middle voice.

Verb

• To take a middle view of.
• To double (a rope) into two equal portions; to fold in the middle.

Related

Similar words

• centre, center, midst

Origin

• From Middle English middel, from Old English middel, middle, from Proto-Germanic *midlą, *midilą, *medalą, a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *midjō ("middle, midst") (compare *midjaz), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ("between, in the middle, middle"). Cognate with West Frisian middel, Dutch middel, German mittel ("middle"), German Mittel ("middle, means"), Danish middel ("means, agent, medicine"). Related also to Swedish medel ("means, medium"), Icelandic meðal ("means, medicine"). See also mid.