# medius
## English
### Etymology

Borrowed from New Latin from Latin medius (“middle”). See medium. Doublet of minge and middle.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmiːdi.əs/

### Noun

medius (plural medii)
* (anatomy, dated) The middle finger.
** 1876, Medical and Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion:An analysis of the determined cases shows that the index was the digit most frequently amputated, next the medius, next the ring finger, next the thumb, and lastly the little finger
** 1945, Charlotte Wolff, A Psychology of Gesture:There is an interesting abnormality in finger length, the medius being especially long […]

### See also

* gluteus medius
* sonus medius

### References

* “medius”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

## Latin
### Etymology

From Proto-Italic *meðjos, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between”).
Cognate with Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos), Sanskrit मध्य (mádhya), Avestan 𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬜𐬌𐬌𐬁𐬥𐬀 (ma$^i$δiiāna), Old Armenian մէջ (mēǰ), Persian میان (miân) and Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌹𐍃 (midjis).

### Pronunciation

* (Classical Latin) IPA: /ˈme.di.us/, [ˈmɛd̪iʊs̠]
* (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA: /ˈme.di.us/, [ˈmɛːd̪ius]

### Adjective

medius (feminine media, neuter medium, comparative magis medius or medior, superlative medioximus); first/second-declension adjective
* middle, mid, the middle of, the midst of, central, between, midway between, in the center
    media pars corporis; medium corpus ― the waist
    media nox ― midnight
    media urbs ― the middle of the city
    urbs media ― the middle city
    in mediās rēs ― into the middle of things
** 29 BCE – 19 BCE, Virgil, Aeneid 4.184–185:Nocte volat caelī mediō terraeque per umbram / strīdēns [...].[Rumor] flies between heaven and earth at night, shrill-sounding through the darkness.
* half
* moderate
* indifferent, undecided

#### Declension

First/second-declension adjective.

#### Derived terms

* mediānus
* mediastīnus
* mediē
* medietās
* mediō
* mediocris
* Mediolatīnitās
* Mediolatīnus
* mediterrāneus
* meditullium
* medium
* medulla
* merīdiēs

#### Descendants

* Balkano-Romance:
** Aromanian: njedz, njedzu
** Romanian: miez
* Italo-Romance:
** Dalmatian: mesu
** Italian: mezzo
** Neapolitan: miezzo, mienzo
*** → Sardinian: mezu
** Sicilian: mezzu, menzu
** Venetan: mezo, mexo, miso
* Rhaeto-Romance:
** Friulian: mieç, mieğ
** Romansch: mez, miez
* Gallo-Romance:
** Catalan: mig
** French: mi-
** Occitan: mièg, miei
* Ibero-Romance:
** Aragonese: meyo, micho, meya (“sock”)
** Old Galician-Portuguese: meio
*** Ladino: meyu (Monastir, Sarajevo)
*** Portuguese: meio
** Old Spanish: meo
* Insular Romance
** Sardinian: meiu; ⇒ mesu (crossed with mēnsus)
* Borrowed:
** → Aragonese: medio, media
** → Asturian: mediu, midiu, media (“sock; measure”)
** → English: medius, media
*** → Portuguese: mídia
*** → Russian: медиа (media)
** → Italian: medio, media
*** → Sardinian: media
** → Portuguese: médio, média
** → Romanian: mediu, medie
** → Spanish: medio, media
*** → Sardinian: mediu

### References

* “medius”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
* “medius”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
* medius in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
* medius in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
* Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book‎, London: Macmillan and Co. the temperate zone: orbis medius to rush into the midst of the foe: in medios hostes se inicere to break through the enemy's centre: per medios hostes (mediam hostium aciem) perrumpere (ambiguous) the Mediterranean Sea: mare medium or internum (ambiguous) the middle ages: media quae vocatur aetas (ambiguous) manhood: aetas constans, media, firmata, corroborata (not virilis) (ambiguous) to become known, become a topic of common conversation (used of things): foras efferri, palam fieri, percrebrescere, divulgari, in medium proferri, exire, emanare (ambiguous) elevated, moderate, plain style: genus dicendi grave or grande, medium, tenue (cf. Or. 5. 20; 6. 21) (ambiguous) to bring a subject forward into discussion: in medium proferre aliquid (ambiguous) to break off in the middle of the conversation: medium sermonem abrumpere (Verg. Aen. 4. 388) (ambiguous) to be neutral: medium esse (ambiguous) to be neutral: medium se gerere (ambiguous) the centre of the marching column: agmen medium (Liv. 10. 41) (ambiguous) the centre: media acies
* “medius”, in William Smith, editor (1848), A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London: John Murray