media
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈmiː.di.ə/
ipa: /ˈmɛ.di.ə/
ipa: /ˈmi.di.ə/
note: Indic
ipa: /ˈmiɖ(ɪ)jɑ/
note: Indic
ipa: /ˈmeɖ(ɪ)jɑ/
rhymes: -iːdiə
ipa: /ˈmiːdiə/
ipa: /ˈmidi.ə/
rhymes: -iːdiə
ipa: /ˈmiː.di.ə/
ipa: /ˈmɛ.di.ə/
ipa: /ˈmi.di.ə/
note: Indic
ipa: /ˈmiɖ(ɪ)jɑ/
note: Indic
ipa: /ˈmeɖ(ɪ)jɑ/
rhymes: -iːdiə
Etymology: Latinate plural of medium, particularly as a clipping of communications media and often reinterpreted as singular or mass noun, from Latin media, neuter plural form of medius (“middle”, adjective), from Proto-Italic *meðjos, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between”).
Senses: glosses: plural of medium (only in certain senses)
examples: text: There is, again, “the writing medium,” the man or woman influenced seeming to lose control of the right arm, when the pen or pencil is taken;[…]. There is, finally, “the speaking medium,” the person influenced being lost in a swoon or trance, and then uttering strange and unaccountable sentiments and expressions. Moreover, it is now asserted as the teaching of these media, that the scenes of the Salem witchcraft, so called, were the attempts of the spirits in another world to make their presence known, and to convey communications to the living. […] Media, Persons of Nervous Organism. […] We should not disparage at all, we wish not to do so, the character of those who are generally the media. We allude not to the fact that they are generally young, and inexperienced, and females.
ref: 1852, Traverse Oldfield [pseudonym; George Whitefield Samson], “To Daimonion,” or The Spiritual Medium. Its Nature Illustrated by the History of Its Uniform Mysterious Manifestation When Unduly Excited. […], Boston, Mass.: Gould and Lincoln, […], pages 14, 36, and 39:
text: [A]n alphabetic and telegraphic correspondence was established between members of the Fox family and the mysterious invisible agent. Two daughters of Mr. Fox appear to have been the principal media in the communications thus far; […] [I]t was calculated that in September, 1853, there were thirty thousand media in the United States. […] Many of the earlier media or vehicles of these communications, persons whose peculiar nervous and electric temperament was thought to favour intercourse with, departed spirits, asserted, and their friends confirmed the fact, that these invisible powers, by certain distinct knockings, corresponding to the place of the letters in the alphabet, were able to convey messages. […] [T]hese rappings assumed protean forms. They would occur […] when the feet of the media were isolated on glass stools,[…]. Media with no taste for music, when impressed, would play well on the piano; […]
ref: 1854, Mary Howitt, compiler, “[Appendix.] Spiritual Manifestations.”, in The History of Magic. […], volume II, London: Henry G. Bohn, […], pages 491–494:
text: At a private circle, one evening in the early part of last week, whereof the two media of whom I spoke in my last formed a part, we were directed, through the raps, to place a guitar under the table. […] At a subsequent meeting of the same persons, held at the house of Mr. B., the father of Miss B., the medium, these musical performances were all repeated, with the addition of some extra performances with a small hand-bell, which the Spirit called for.
ref: 1854 February 4, Frater [pseudonym], “More from the Spirits in Buffalo”, in Spiritual Telegraph: Devoted to the Illustration of Spiritual Intercourse, volume II, number 40 (whole 92), New York, N.Y.: Partridge and Brittan, page 157, columns 4–5:
text: As a confirmation of these revelations, there are several media in different parts of the world who have declared that they have seen various communications from spirits of high orders, who have declared that, for furtherance of God’s eternal will, one central medium or prophet shall be established,[…]. Mr. J. Jones, of Coventry, whose son is a medium, has written an able article on this subject, which has appeared in several periodicals, and all the media candidly acknowledge that this prophet has never been revealed unto them, and as these revelations were obtained in 1854, and I had seen the accounts given by other media recently published, declaring to their being informed that a prophet should come, […] I, in August, 1856, determined to send forth the revelations received two years since respecting myself and others, in reference to our instructions upon the establishment of the New Era and the true universal church of Christ, and thus prove that the event was foretold by other media who knew nothing of me, or the affairs into which I had embarked; […]
ref: 1857, J. G. H. Brown, “Further Revelations as Instructions from the Celestial Powers”, in A Message from the World of Spirits, Shewing the State of Men after Death; […], London: […] Holyoake & Co., […], pages 279–280:
text: [A]s media often rebel, and neglect their appointed guides, they lay themselves open to the influences of evil spirits, who appear to be always alive for mischief, as we find too much the case in the earth-life. It is not the medium alone who is thus provided with a protector; […] There are well-known media in England who have thus in a short time devoured the chief contents of whole libraries. […] I must now get on to the next class, namely, Pictorial Mediumship, which differs from the Symbolic chiefly in the circumstance that the things seen and described by the medium do not in reality exist as material facts, but are only representations, prefiguring or bodying-forth a spiritual or psychical truth. Ezekiel, Daniel, the writer of the Apocalypse, and Swedenborg are instances of Pictorial media, and there are many beautiful examples amongst modern media, of whom T. L. Harris is one of the most eminent; Judge Edmonds, of America, is another instance.
ref: 1872 December 31, T. Grant, A Scientific View of Modern Spiritualism. […], London: James Burns, […], pages 6–7 and 15:
text: The author visited the temple at Magazine Road, dedicated to the Nine Sovereigns, where tang-ki, media, were at the service of the public in order to communicate between the deceased and the living. […] Several media kicked a heated glowing red iron ball[…]. Other media danced to and fro swinging their swords fighting the unseen demons. […] [M]ale devotees led by the media walked across the scorching coals in an act of purification. […] In Penang the day ends with a medium possessed by the “Ninth Sovereign” being carried to the beach.
ref: 1972, Åke Haglund, Contact and Conflict: Studies in Contemporary Religious Attitudes among Chinese People, Lund: CWK Gleerups, →OCLC, page 191:
glosses: plural of medium (“someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world”)