Mediterranean

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

/ ˌmɛd ɪ təˈreɪ ni ən /

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

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|DAILY BEAST
“We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery,” he said.
Pope’s Blistering Attack on ‘Haggard’ Europe|Nico Hines|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Eastward therefore the adventurer, the trader, and the pilgrim turned, and found in the Mediterranean their natural pathway.
Europe in the Sixteenth Century 1494-1598, Fifth Edition|A. H. (Arthur Henry) Johnson
The Mediterranean is like a capricious woman; the North Sea is like a violent and capricious man.
A Dream of the North Sea|James Runciman
In the Mediterranean also there were a number of patrol gunboats and minesweepers similar to the fighting sloops.
Submarine Warfare of To-day|Charles W. Domville-Fife
A second list gives us the line of march along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Patriarchal Palestine|Archibald Henry Sayce
Until they learned to navigate they swept the eastern and southern coasts of the Mediterranean.
Peter the Hermit|Daniel A. Goodsell

British Dictionary definitions for mediterranean

Mediterranean

/ (ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪnɪən) /

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.