mediant

[ mee-dee-uhnt ]

noun

1. the third degree of a major or minor musical scale.

mediant

/ ˈmiːdɪənt /

noun

1. music
   1. the third degree of a major or minor scale
   2. ( as modifier )

      a mediant chord

Word History and Origins

Origin of mediant¹

1720–30; < Italian mediante < Late Latin mediant- (stem of mediāns ), present participle of mediāre to be in the middle. See medium, -ant

Word History and Origins

Origin of mediant¹

C18: from Italian mediante, from Late Latin mediāre to be in the middle

Example Sentences

A particularly elegant approach I’d like to highlight involved mediants and Farey sequences.

From FiveThirtyEight

You could also start with two rational numbers — one less than √10 and the other greater than √10 — and calculate successive mediants.

From FiveThirtyEight

Then in the B flat sonata (Op. 106) the second subject occurs in the sub-mediant (G).

From Project Gutenberg

Sound contains three sounds: That of the tonic, the dominant, and the mediant.

From Project Gutenberg