media

¹

[mee-dee-uh]

noun

1. a plural of medium.

2. (usually used with a plural verb),  the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, magazines, and the internet, that reach or influence people widely.

   The media are covering the speech tonight.

adjective

1. pertaining to or concerned with such means.

   a job in media research.

media

²

[mee-dee-uh]

noun

plural

mediae 

1. Greek Grammar.,  a voiced plosive, as β, δ, γ.

2. Anatomy.,  the middle layer of an artery or lymphatic vessel.

3. Entomology.,  a longitudinal vein in the middle portion of the wing of an insect.

Media

³

[mee-dee-uh]

noun

1. an ancient country in W Asia, S of the Caspian Sea, corresponding generally to NW Iran. Ecbatana.

media

¹

/ ˈmɛdɪə /

noun

1. the middle layer of the wall of a blood or lymph vessel

2. one of the main veins in the wing of an insect

3. phonetics

   1. a consonant whose articulation lies midway between that of a voiced and breathed speech sound

   2. a consonant pronounced with weak voice, as c in French second

media

²

/ ˈmiːdɪə /

noun

1. a plural of medium

2. the means of communication that reach large numbers of people, such as television, newspapers, and radio

adjective

1. of or relating to the mass media

   media hype

Media

³

/ ˈmiːdɪə /

noun

1. an ancient country of SW Asia, south of the Caspian Sea: inhabited by the Medes; overthrew the Assyrian Empire in 612 _bc in alliance with Babylonia; conquered by Cyrus the Great in 550 _bc ; corresponds to present-day NW Iran

Usage

Media, like data, is the plural form of a word borrowed directly from Latin. The singular, medium, early developed the meaning “an intervening agency, means, or instrument” and was first applied to newspapers two centuries ago. In the 1920s media began to appear as a singular collective noun, sometimes with the plural medias. This singular use is now common in the fields of mass communication and advertising, but it is not frequently found outside them: The media is (or are ) not antibusiness.

When media refers to the mass media, it is sometimes treated as a singular form, as in: the media has shown great interest in these events. Many people think this use is incorrect and that media should always be treated as a plural form: the media have shown great interest in these events

Word History and Origins

Origin of media¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Origin of media²

First recorded in 1835–45; from Late Latin (grammar sense only), noun use of feminine singular of Latin medius “middle”; mid ¹ ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of media¹

C19: from Latin medius middle

Example Sentences

The group released a short statement on social media, saying the piece “will return as many times as it takes for the truth to be seen.”

From Salon

The demonstration follows a crackdown on activists, independent media and political opposition in recent months, with most of the leaders of the pro-Western opposition now behind bars.

From BBC

Hundreds of Palestinians flooded my social media accounts and messaging apps with questions like: "Has the war ended?" and "Is this a dream or reality?"

From BBC

Soon after his name was announced, social media exploded into meritocracy debates as if the National Football League’s decisions are culturally motivated and not commercially.

From Los Angeles Times

Short of that, perhaps internal resistance within the administration or pressure from the public and the media might serve the oversight function that Congress, over the past eight months, has abrogated.

From Salon

Related Words

• news 
• publishing 
• radio 
• television 

When To Use

Plural word for media

Media is the plural form of the singular noun medium. The plurals of several other singular words that end in -um are also formed in this way, including memorandum/memoranda, datum/data, and bacterium/bacteria. The irregular plural media derives directly from its original pluralization in Latin. While less common, the standard English plural form mediums is also valid for some definitions of this term, such as in the sense of “a person through whom the spirits of the dead are alleged to be able to contact the living.” Like data, media can be treated as either a singular collective noun or a plural noun, depending on context and meaning. For instance, when describing mass media (“a collection of different media that a general population can access, like newspapers and radio programs”), media can be treated as a singular collective noun.