Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Middle
Mid′dle
(mĭd′d’l)
, Adj.
1.
Equally distant from the extreme either of a number of things or of one thing; mean; medial;
as, the
middle
house in a row; a middle
rank or station in life; flowers of middle
summer; men of middle
age.2.
Intermediate; intervening.
Will, seeking good, finds many
middle
ends. Sir J. Davies.
☞ Middle is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, middle-sized, middle-witted.
Middle Ages
, the period of time intervening between the decline of the Roman Empire and the revival of letters.
– Hallam
regards it as beginning with the sixth and ending with the fifteenth century. Middle class
, in England, people who have an intermediate position between the aristocracy and the artisan class. It includes professional men, bankers, merchants, and small landed proprietors
The
– middle-class
electorate of Great Britain. M. Arnold.
Middle distance
. (Paint.)
See
– Middle-ground
. Middle English
. See , 2.
– English
, Noun.
Middle Kingdom
, China.
– Middle oil
(Chem.)
, that part of the distillate obtained from coal tar which passes over between 170° and 230° Centigrade; – distinguished from the
– light oil
, and the heavy oil
or dead oil
. Middle passage
, in the slave trade, that part of the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the West Indies.
– Middle post
. (Arch.)
Same as
– King-post
. Middle States
, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; which, at the time of the formation of the Union, occupied a middle position between the Eastern States (or New England) and the Southern States.
[U.S.]
– Middle term
(Logic)
, that term of a syllogism with which the two extremes are separately compared, and by means of which they are brought together in the conclusion.
Brande.
– Middle tint
(Paint.)
, a subdued or neutral tint.
Fairholt.
– Middle voice
. (Gram.)
See under
– Voice
. Middle watch
, the period from midnight to four
; a. m.
also,
the men on watch during that time.
Ham. Nav. Encyc.
– Middle weight
, a pugilist, boxer, or wrestler classed as of medium weight, i. e., over 140 and not over 160 lbs., in distinction from those classed as
light weights
, heavy weights
, etc. Mid′dle
,Noun.
The point or part equally distant from the extremities or exterior limits, as of a line, a surface, or a solid; an intervening point or part in space, time, or order of series; the midst; central portion
; specif.,
the waist.
Chaucer.
“The middle of the land.” Judg. ix. 37.
In this, as in most questions of state, there is a
middle
. Burke.
Syn. – See
Midst
. Webster 1828 Edition
Middle
MIDDLE
,Adj.
1.
Equally distant from the extremes; as the middle point of a line or circle; the middle station of life. The middle path or course is most safe.2.
Intermediate; intervening. Will, seeking good, finds many middle ends.
Middle ages, the ages or period of time about equally distant from the decline of the Roman empire and the revival of letters in Europe, or from the eighth to the fifteenth century of the christian era.