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definitions

mediaeval

[mee-dee-ee-vuh l, med-ee-, mid-ee-, mid-ee-vuh l]
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adjective

medieval.
Related formsan·ti·me·di·ae·val, adjectivean·ti·me·di·ae·val·ly, adverbpost·me·di·ae·val, adjectivepseu·do·me·di·ae·val, adjectivequa·si-me·di·ae·val, adjectiveun·me·di·ae·val, adjective

medieval

or me·di·ae·val

[mee-dee-ee-vuh l, med-ee-, mid-ee-, mid-ee-vuh l]

adjective

of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or in the style of the Middle Ages: medieval architecture.Compare Middle Ages.
Informal. extremely old-fashioned; primitive.

Origin of medieval

1820–30; < New Latin medi(um) aev(um) the middle age + -al1. See medium, age
Related formsme·di·e·val·ly, adverban·ti·me·di·e·val, adjectivean·ti·me·di·e·val·ly, adverbpost·me·di·e·val, adjectivepseu·do·me·di·e·val, adjectivepseu·do·me·di·e·val·ly, adverbqua·si-me·di·e·val, adjectiveun·me·di·e·val, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mediaeval

Historical Examples of mediaeval

  • It is odd how one gets callous to death, a mediaeval callousness.

    Ballads of a Bohemian

    Robert W. Service

  • Henceforth all the mediaeval chalices were fashioned with a six-sided foot.

    English Villages

    P. H. Ditchfield

  • What is meant by the "Middle Ages" or the "Mediaeval" period?

    Introductory American History

    Henry Eldridge Bourne

  • Flowers, tears, applause—that has had its time; it's a mediaeval conception.

    Under Western Eyes

    Joseph Conrad

  • It is neither Asiatic nor mediaeval in its essential character.

British Dictionary definitions for mediaeval

mediaeval

adjective

a variant spelling of medieval

medieval

mediaeval

adjective

of, relating to, or in the style of the Middle Ages
informal old-fashioned; primitive
Derived Formsmedievally or mediaevally, adverb

Word Origin for medieval

C19: from New Latin medium aevum the middle age. See medium, age
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
Word Origin and History for mediaeval

see medieval.

medieval

adj.

1827, "pertaining to or suggestive of the Middle Ages," coined in English from Latin medium "the middle" (see medium (n.)) + aevum "age" (see eon).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
mediaeval in Culture

medieval

A descriptive term for people, objects, events, and institutions of the Middle Ages.

Note

“Medieval” is sometimes used as a term of disapproval for outdated ideas and customs. It may suggest inhuman practices, such as torture of prisoners. (See Inquisition.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.