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medial

[mee-dee-uh l]
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adjective
  1. situated in or pertaining to the middle; median; intermediate.
  2. pertaining to a mean or average; average.
  3. ordinary.
  4. Phonetics. within a word or syllable; neither initial nor final, as the t, a, and n in stand.
  5. Entomology. pertaining to, involving, or situated near the media.
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noun
  1. Phonetics.
    1. a medial sound or letter.
    2. media2(def 1).
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Origin of medial

First recorded in 1560–70, medial is from the Late Latin word mediālis middle. See medium, -al1
Related formsme·di·al·ly, adverbpost·me·di·al, adjectivesub·me·di·al, adjectivesub·me·di·al·ly, adverbsu·per·me·di·al, adjectivesu·per·me·di·al·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

averagebetweencentercentralhalfwayinnermostintermediatemeanmiddlemidwaymedianordinary

Examples from the Web for medial

Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for medial

medial

adjective
  1. of or situated in the middle
  2. ordinary or average in size
  3. maths relating to an average
  4. another word for median (def. 1), median (def. 2), median (def. 3)
  5. zoology of or relating to a media
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noun
  1. phonetics a speech sound between being fortis and lenis; media
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Derived Formsmedially, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from Late Latin mediālis, from medius middle
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 medial

adj.

1560s, "pertaining to a mathematical mean," from Late Latin medialis "of the middle," from Latin medius "in the middle," from PIE *medhyo- "middle" (cf. Sanskrit madhyah, Avestan madiya- "middle," Greek mesos, Gothic midjis, Old English midd "middle," Old Church Slavonic medzu "between," Armenian mej "middle"); perhaps related to PIE root *me- "between." Meaning "occupying a middle position" is attested from 1721.

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n.

"a medial letter," 1776, from medial (adj.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
medial in Medicine

medial

(mē′dē-əl)
adj.
  1. Relating to, situated in, or extending toward the middle; median.
  2. Being or relating to an average or a mean.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.