Middletown1
[mid-l-toun]
- a typical American town or small city with traditional values and mores.
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Origin of Middletown1
after a pseudonymously named town studied in a book with the same title (1929) by U.S. sociologists Robert S. Lynd (1892–1970) and Helen Merrell Lynd (1896–1982); the town actually studied was Muncie, Ind.
Middletown2
[mid-l-toun]
- a township in E New Jersey.
- a city in SW Ohio, on the Miami River.
- a city in central Connecticut, on the Connecticut River.
- a city in SE New York.
- a town in SE Rhode Island.
- a town in E Pennsylvania.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for middletown
Contemporary Examples
A reporter with the Middletown Times Herald found her “distinctly feminine.”
Like those in Middletown, most are also facing a Catch 22: the stagnant economy blew a hole in their budgets.
A mother of four who lives in Middletown, Md., McKenzie joined Solavei when a friend posted about the company on Facebook.
Mobile Telephone Startup Solavei Avoids Ads, Relies on Customers for Sales LeadsMiranda Green
October 24, 2012
Historical Examples
He was killed by a bullet from the gun of a sharpshooter in Middletown.
Personal Recollections of a CavalrymanJ. H. (James Harvey) Kidd
Behind him, through the wood, on toward Middletown rumbled the passing battery.
The Long RollMary Johnston
There's a wood road over there that cuts off a deal of distance to Middletown.
The Long RollMary Johnston
Five minutes later they reached the pike, south of Middletown.
The Long RollMary Johnston
Half a mile from Middletown they came up with a forlorn little company.
The Long RollMary Johnston
Word Origin and History for middletown
Middletown
"typical U.S. middle class community," 1929. The U.S. Geological Survey lists 40 towns by that name, not counting variant spellings.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper