In early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or "middle age", first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or "middle ages", first recorded in 1625.
在早期的用法中，中世纪这个词拥有包括最早记录于1604年的"medium aevum"或"middle age"，和最早记录于1625年的"media saecula"或"middle ages" 等多个变体。