Mediterranean

American  

[med-i-tuh-rey-nee-uhn] / ˌmɛd ɪ təˈreɪ ni ən /

noun

1. Mediterranean Sea.

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

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

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adjective

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

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

3. surrounded or nearly surrounded by land.

Mediterranean British  

/ ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪnɪən /

noun

1. short for the Mediterranean Sea

2. a native or inhabitant of a Mediterranean country

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adjective

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

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

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

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

Other Word Forms

• non-Mediterranean noun
• trans-Mediterranean adjective

Etymology

Origin of Mediterranean

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

Example Sentences

Based on their findings, the researchers suggest that modern apes may have originated in northern Afro-Arabia, the Levant, or the eastern Mediterranean.

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026

Italy was Europe’s largest importer of LNG from Qatar; Algeria is Italy’s biggest supplier of gas overall, through a pipeline that crosses the Mediterranean.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

On an unseasonably warm afternoon, families flocked to the waterfront, sunning themselves before an azure-blue Mediterranean.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

MPs have raised concern about how long it it has taken the UK to send the HMS Dragon warship to the Eastern Mediterranean.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

At the beginning of 1917, the German navy had about a hundred submarines available for action in the North Sea, the Atlantic, and the Mediterranean.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman