middle

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The part of something that is the same distance from both ends or all sides.

   I woke up in the middle of the night.

2. 2
   adj

   Located in the centre, between two ends or sides.

   She sat in the middle seat of the row.

3. 3
   noun

   The central part of the body around the waist.

   He tied the belt around his middle.

Common collocations

• middle age Adjective + noun
• middle class Adjective + noun

From Middle English middel, from Old English middel (“middle, centre, waist”), from Proto-Germanic *midlą, *midilą, *medalą (“middle”), a diminutive of Proto-Germanic *midjō (“middle, midst”) (compare *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective)), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Middel (“middle”), West Frisian mul (“middle”), Dutch middel (“means; medicine, cure”), German mittel (“middle”, adjective), Mittel (“means; medicament, remedy”, noun), Luxembourgish Mëttel (“means, method; medicament”), Vilamovian mytuł (“middle”), Yi…

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