Middle English

Middle English
Middle Mid"dle (m[i^]d"d'l), a. [OE. middel, AS. middel; akin to D. middel, OHG. muttil, G. mittel. [root]271. See {Mid}, a.] [1913 Webster] 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. [1913 Webster]

2. Intermediate; intervening. [1913 Webster]

Will, seeking good, finds many middle ends. --Sir J. Davies. [1913 Webster]

Note: Middle is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, middle-sized, middle-witted. [1913 Webster]

{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 [1913 Webster]

The middle-class electorate of Great Britain. --M. Arnold. [1913 Webster]

{Middle distance}. (Paint.) See {Middle-ground}.

{Middle English}. See {English}, n., 2.

{Middle Kingdom}, China.

{Middle oil} (Chem.), that part of the distillate obtained from coal tar which passes over between 170[deg] and 230[deg] 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. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Middle English — Spoken in England, south east Scotland and in Scottish burghs, to some extent in Ireland Extinct developed into Early Modern English, Scots and Yola in Wexford by the 16th century Language family …   Wikipedia

  • Middle English — n. the English language as written and spoken between c. 1100 and c. 1500, preceded by Old English and followed by Early Modern English: it is characterized by the loss of grammatical gender and most of the inflectional endings of Old English, by …   English World dictionary

  • Middle English — ► NOUN ▪ the English language from c.1150 to c.1470 …   English terms dictionary

  • Middle English — (ca. 1100–ca. 1500)    The Middle English period is essentially a transitional period in the history of the English language between the basically Germanic character of OLD ENGLISH and the language of the earliest printed books that record what… …   Encyclopedia of medieval literature

  • Middle English — noun English from about 1100 to 1450 • Hypernyms: ↑English, ↑English language • Hyponyms: ↑East Midland, ↑West Midland, ↑Northern, ↑Kentish, ↑Southwestern, ↑We …   Useful english dictionary

  • Middle English — the English language of the period c1150 c1475. Abbr.: ME [1830 40] * * * Vernacular spoken and written in England с 1100–1500, the descendant of Old English and the ancestor of Modern English. It can be divided into three periods: Early, Central …   Universalium

  • Middle English Lyric — is a genre of English Literature, popular in the 14th Century, that is characterized by its brevity and emotional expression. Conventionally, the lyric expresses a moment, usually spoken or performed in the first person. Although some lyrics have …   Wikipedia

  • Middle English phonology — The phonology of Middle English is necessarily somewhat speculative, since it is preserved purely as a written language. Nevertheless, there is a very large corpus of Middle English. The dialects of Middle English vary greatly over both time and… …   Wikipedia

  • Middle English creole hypothesis — The Middle English creole hypothesis is the concept that the English language is a creole, i.e., a language that developed from a pidgin. The vast differences between Old and Middle English have led some historical linguists to claim that the… …   Wikipedia

  • Middle English literature — History of Literature Bronze Age literature Sumerian Egyptian Akkadian Classical literature …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”