in medias res

[ in me-di-ahs res; English in mee-dee-uh s reez, in mey-dee-ahs reys ]

/ ɪn ˈmɛ dɪˌɑs ˈrɛs; English ɪn ˈmi diˌəs ˈriz, ɪn ˈmeɪ diˌɑs ˈreɪs /

adverb Latin.

in the middle of things.

Words nearby in medias res

in loc. cit., in loco, in loco parentis, in love, in luck, in medias res, in mem., in memoriam, in memory of, in mind, in name only

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

British Dictionary definitions for in medias res

in medias res

/ Latin (ɪn ˈmiːdɪˌæs ˈreɪs) /

in or into the middle of events or a narrative

Word Origin for in medias res

literally: into the midst of things, taken from a passage in Horace's Ars Poetica

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for in medias res

in medias res

[ (in may-dee-uhs, mee-dee-uhs rays) ]

In the middle of the action. Epics often begin in medias res. For example, the Odyssey, which tells the story of the wanderings of the hero Odysseus, begins almost at the end of his wanderings, just before his arrival home. In medias res is a Latin phrase used by the poet Horace; it means “in the middle of things.”