medial

[ mee-dee-uhl ]

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. medium.

noun

1. Phonetics.
   1. a medial sound or letter.
   2. media ²( def 1 ).

medial

/ ˈmiːdɪəl /

adjective

1. of or situated in the middle
2. ordinary or average in size
3. maths relating to an average
4. See median
   another word for median median median
5. zoology of or relating to a media

noun

1. phonetics a speech sound between being fortis and lenis; media

Derived Forms

• ˈmedially, adverb

Other Words From

• medi·al·ly adverb
• post·medi·al adjective
• sub·medi·al adjective
• sub·medi·al·ly adverb
• super·medi·al adjective
• super·medi·al·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of medial¹

First recorded in 1560–70, medial is from the Late Latin word mediālis middle. See medium, -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of medial¹

C16: from Late Latin mediālis, from medius middle

Example Sentences

The ill-fated title hopefuls endured their latest setback Saturday, when Kevin Durant suffered a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee during an unfortunate chain reaction.

From Washington Post

Two areas that are affected, the medial prefrontal cortex and the precuneus, typically suppress and control emotional experiences.

From The Daily Beast

It measured the thickness of a part called the medial temporal lobe, which includes the hippocampus.

From Science News For Students

Asking what follows the word “person” activates the medial temporal lobe’s activity pattern for memories associated with that word.

From Nautilus

That night Gasol hobbled off his home court with a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee.

From The Daily Beast

The aponeurosis crosses the medial side of the insertion of M. pterygoideus dorsalis medialis.

From Project Gutenberg

When the ends are brought together by rotation of these arytenoid cartilages, the medial surfaces touch.

From Project Gutenberg

The limestone cannot, therefore, be a part of the carboniferous or "medial."

From Project Gutenberg

In the Cherokee text both d and g have a medial sound, approximating the sounds of t and k respectively.

From Project Gutenberg

Apart from countless medial and transitional forms, there are still large numbers that do not fit in any one of these categories.

From Project Gutenberg