Mediterranean

[med-i-tuh-rey-nee-uh n]

noun

a person whose physical characteristics are considered typical of the peoples native to or inhabiting the Mediterranean area.

the, Informal. the islands and countries of the Mediterranean Sea collectively.

adjective

pertaining to, situated on or near, or dwelling about the Mediterranean Sea.

pertaining to or characteristic of the peoples native to the lands along or near the Mediterranean Sea.

surrounded or nearly surrounded by land.

Origin of Mediterranean

1585–95; < Latin mediterrāne(us) midland, inland (see medium, terra, -an, -eous) + -an

Related formsnon-Med·i·ter·ra·ne·an, noun, adjectivetrans-Med·i·ter·ra·ne·an, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mediterranean

Contemporary Examples of mediterranean

The city served as a crossroads for African, Mediterranean, and Middle Eastern cultures.
Egypt Ain’t The Only Pyramid Show In Town
Nina Strochlic
December 11, 2014
“We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery,” he said.
Pope’s Blistering Attack on ‘Haggard’ Europe
Nico Hines
November 26, 2014
Europe no longer wants to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean.
Britain’s Let-Em-All-Die Policy
Nico Hines, Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 1, 2014
Without a dedicated and proactive rescue force, campaigners fear, the death toll in the Mediterranean will skyrocket.
Britain’s Let-Em-All-Die Policy
Nico Hines, Barbie Latza Nadeau
November 1, 2014
Libyans are by and large charming, charismatic, humorous people with a Mediterranean joie de vivre.
It’s Not the USA that Made Libya the Disaster it is Today
Ann Marlowe
August 3, 2014

Historical Examples of mediterranean

If he was badly off, so, too, were many other boys and girls in that Mediterranean island.
The Boy Life of Napoleon
Eugenie Foa
This was blockading the Atlantic against their enemies, and the Mediterranean against their own ships.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
I now inquired for the Brandywine, but found she had sailed for the Mediterranean.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
The affairs of the Mediterranean wore at this time a gloomy aspect.
The Life of Horatio Lord Nelson
Robert Southey
Long cables had been submerged in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
Heroes of the Telegraph
J. Munro

British Dictionary definitions for mediterranean

Mediterranean

noun

short for the Mediterranean Sea

a native or inhabitant of a Mediterranean country

adjective

of, relating to, situated or dwelling on or near the Mediterranean Sea

denoting a postulated subdivision of the Caucasoid race, characterized by slender build and dark complexion

meteorol (of a climate) characterized by hot summers and relatively warm winters when most of the annual rainfall occurs

(often not capital) obsolete situated in the middle of a landmass; inland

Word Origin for Mediterranean

C16: from Latin mediterrāneus, from medius middle + -terrāneus, from terra land, earth

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 mediterranean

Mediterranean

"the sea between southern Europe and northern Africa," c.1400, from Late Latin Mediterraneum mare "Mediterranean Sea" (7c.), from Latin mediterraneus "midland;" the original sense being of "sea in the middle of the earth," from medius "middle" (see medial (adj.)) + terra "land, earth" (see terrain). The Old English name was Wendel-sæ, so called for the Vandals, Germanic tribe that settled on the southwest coast of it after the fall of Rome. The noun meaning "a person of Mediterranean race" is from 1888.