middle

adj

Etymology: From Middle English myddel, middel, from Old English middel (“middle, centre, waist”), from Proto-Germanic *midlą, *midilą, *medalą (“middle”), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *midjō (“middle, midst”) (compare *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective)), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Middel (“middle”), West Frisian mul (“middle”), Dutch middel (“means; medicine, cure”), German mittel (“middle”, adjective), Mittel (“means; medicament, remedy”, noun), Luxembourgish Mëttel (“means, method; medicament”), Vilamovian mytuł (“middle”), Yiddish מיטל (mitl, “middle”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk middel (“means”), Icelandic meðal (“average; means, medicine”), Swedish medel (“average, mean, middle”). See also mid.

1. Located in the middle; in between.

   “the middle point”

   “middle name, Middle English, Middle Ages”

2. Central.
3. Pertaining to the middle voice.

name

1. A sheading of the Isle of Man.

noun

Etymology: From Middle English myddel, middel, from Old English middel (“middle, centre, waist”), from Proto-Germanic *midlą, *midilą, *medalą (“middle”), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *midjō (“middle, midst”) (compare *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective)), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Middel (“middle”), West Frisian mul (“middle”), Dutch middel (“means; medicine, cure”), German mittel (“middle”, adjective), Mittel (“means; medicament, remedy”, noun), Luxembourgish Mëttel (“means, method; medicament”), Vilamovian mytuł (“middle”), Yiddish מיטל (mitl, “middle”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk middel (“means”), Icelandic meðal (“average; means, medicine”), Swedish medel (“average, mean, middle”). See also mid.

1. A centre, midpoint.

   “The middle of a circle is the point which has the same distance to every point of circle.”

2. The part between the beginning and the end.

   “I woke up in the middle of the night.”

   “In the middle of the marathon, David collapsed from fatigue.”

3. The middle stump.
4. The central part of a human body; the waist.

   “If I have a diet plan and stick to it, it is easy for me to have control over my middle.”

5. The middle voice.
6. the center of the political spectrum.

   “As part of his successful re-election strategy, Clinton began governing from the middle.”

7. An essay on social or literary issues in a newspaper or magazine, originally placed between the leading articles and the reviews.

   “‘Did you see the Spec. had a middle on “Rural Tenacities” last week. That was all Huckley.’”

verb

Etymology: From Middle English myddel, middel, from Old English middel (“middle, centre, waist”), from Proto-Germanic *midlą, *midilą, *medalą (“middle”), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *midjō (“middle, midst”) (compare *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective)), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Middel (“middle”), West Frisian mul (“middle”), Dutch middel (“means; medicine, cure”), German mittel (“middle”, adjective), Mittel (“means; medicament, remedy”, noun), Luxembourgish Mëttel (“means, method; medicament”), Vilamovian mytuł (“middle”), Yiddish מיטל (mitl, “middle”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk middel (“means”), Icelandic meðal (“average; means, medicine”), Swedish medel (“average, mean, middle”). See also mid.

1. To take a middle view of.

   “And now, to middle the matter between both, it is pity, that the man they favour has not that sort of merit which a person of a mind so delicate as that of Miss Harlowe might reasonably expect in a husband.”

2. To double (a rope) into two equal portions; to fold in the middle.
3. To strike (the ball) with the middle portion of the face of the bat.