medium

B1 Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈmiː.di.əm/ See IPA manual

Freq #5804

Meanings

1

noun
A way of communicating or presenting information.

Painting was her favourite medium for expressing ideas.
2

noun
A substance through which something passes or travels.

Sound cannot travel without a medium such as air or water.
3

noun
A person who claims to communicate with the spirits of the dead.

The grieving family visited a medium to contact their late father.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

3 noun · a person who claims to... spiritualist

Word family

Forms mediums

Derived forms biomediumcryomediumgeomediumhypermediumintermediumlower-mediummedium-browmedium-chainmedium-qualitymediumicmediumistmediumize

Related forms mean median mediate mediation mediator mediocre mediocrity

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

interstellar medium
the sparse matter occupying the space between stars

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (1)

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The medium is the message

Simplified etymology

Medium entered English in the late 16th century and comes from Latin medius, meaning “middle.”

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin medium, neuter of medius (“middle”), from Proto-Italic *meðjos, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between”). Compare middle. Doublet of mid, medio, media, and meson.

*meðjos Proto-Italic *médʰyos Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# medium

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmiː.di.əm/
**Frequency rank:** 5804

## Meanings
1. A way of communicating or presenting information.
2. A substance through which something passes or travels.
3. A person who claims to communicate with the spirits of the dead.

## Examples
- Painting was her favourite medium for expressing ideas.
- Sound cannot travel without a medium such as air or water.
- The grieving family visited a medium to contact their late father.

## Derived Forms
- biomedium
- cryomedium
- geomedium
- hypermedium
- intermedium
- lower-medium
- medium-brow
- medium-chain
- medium-quality
- mediumic
- mediumist
- mediumize

## Related Forms
- mean
- median
- mediate
- mediation
- mediator
- mediocre
- mediocrity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *meðjos
- Root: *médʰyos

## Etymology
Borrowed from Latin medium, neuter of medius (“middle”), from Proto-Italic *meðjos, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between”). Compare middle. Doublet of mid, medio, media, and meson.

## AI Etymology
Medium was borrowed from Latin medium, neuter of medius (“middle”), from Proto-Italic *meðjos, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between”). Compare middle. Doublet of mid, medio, media, and meson. In present-day English its meanings include a way of communicating or presenting information, a substance through which something passes or travels, and a person who claims to communicate with the spirits of the dead. The historical chain runs through *meðjos (Proto-Italic) and *médʰyos (Proto-Indo-European). Related and derived forms include mean, median, mediate, and biomedium.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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