medieval

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Relating to the Middle Ages, roughly from 500 to 1500 AD.

   We visited a medieval castle with thick stone walls.

2. 2
   adj

   Cruel or extremely old-fashioned, as if from the Middle Ages.

   The press described the treatment of prisoners as medieval.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Medieval was formed in the early nineteenth century from modern Latin medium aevum, meaning “middle age.” This learned expression developed from the older English name “the Middle Ages,” recorded from the early seventeenth century.

From French médiéval (“medieval”), from Latin medium (“middle”) + aevum (“age”).

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary