English

Noun

medius ‎(plural medii)

1. (anatomy) The middle finger; the third digit, or that which corresponds to it.

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *meðios, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ‎(“between”). Cognate with Ancient Greek μέσος ‎(mésos), Sanskrit मध्य ‎(mádhya), Old Armenian մէջ ‎(mēǰ), Persian میان ‎(miān) etc.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /ˈme.di.us/

Adjective

medius m ‎(feminine media, neuter medium); first/second declension

1. middle
2. half
3. moderate
4. indifferent, undecided

Inflection

First/second declension.

• comparative: medior, superlative: medissimus

Derived terms

Descendants

References

• medius in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• medius in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• MEDIUS in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
• Félix Gaffiot (1934), “medius”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
• Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, London: Macmillan and Co.
  • the temperate zone: orbis medius
    
  • to rush into the midst of the foe: in medios hostes se inicere
    
  • to break through the enemy's centre: per medios hostes (mediam hostium aciem) perrumpere
    
  • (ambiguous) the Mediterranean Sea: mare medium or internum
    
  • (ambiguous) the middle ages: media quae vocatur aetas
    
  • (ambiguous) manhood: aetas constans, media, firmata, corroborata (not virilis)
    
  • (ambiguous) to become known, become a topic of common conversation (used of things): foras efferri, palam fieri, percrebrescere, divulgari, in medium proferri, exire, emanare
    
  • (ambiguous) elevated, moderate, plain style: genus dicendi grave or grande, medium, tenue (cf. Or. 5. 20; 6. 21)
    
  • (ambiguous) to bring a subject forward into discussion: in medium proferre aliquid
    
  • (ambiguous) to break off in the middle of the conversation: medium sermonem abrumpere (Verg. Aen. 4. 388)
    
  • (ambiguous) to be neutral: medium esse
    
  • (ambiguous) to be neutral: medium se gerere
    
  • (ambiguous) the centre of the marching column: agmen medium (Liv. 10. 41)
    
  • (ambiguous) the centre: media acies
    
• medius in William Smith, editor (1848) A Dictionary of Greek Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray