Middle passage

Middle passage
Middle Mid"dle (m[i^]d"d'l), a. [OE. middel, AS. middel; akin to D. middel, OHG. muttil, G. mittel. [root]271. See {Mid}, a.] [1913 Webster] 1. Equally distant from the extreme either of a number of things or of one thing; mean; medial; as, the middle house in a row; a middle rank or station in life; flowers of middle summer; men of middle age. [1913 Webster]

2. Intermediate; intervening. [1913 Webster]

Will, seeking good, finds many middle ends. --Sir J. Davies. [1913 Webster]

Note: Middle is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, middle-sized, middle-witted. [1913 Webster]

{Middle Ages}, the period of time intervening between the decline of the Roman Empire and the revival of letters. Hallam regards it as beginning with the sixth and ending with the fifteenth century.

{Middle class}, in England, people who have an intermediate position between the aristocracy and the artisan class. It includes professional men, bankers, merchants, and small landed proprietors [1913 Webster]

The middle-class electorate of Great Britain. --M. Arnold. [1913 Webster]

{Middle distance}. (Paint.) See {Middle-ground}.

{Middle English}. See {English}, n., 2.

{Middle Kingdom}, China.

{Middle oil} (Chem.), that part of the distillate obtained from coal tar which passes over between 170[deg] and 230[deg] Centigrade; -- distinguished from the {light oil}, and the {heavy oil} or {dead oil}.

{Middle passage}, in the slave trade, that part of the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the West Indies.

{Middle post}. (Arch.) Same as {King-post}.

{Middle States}, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware; which, at the time of the formation of the Union, occupied a middle position between the Eastern States (or New England) and the Southern States. [U.S.]

{Middle term} (Logic), that term of a syllogism with which the two extremes are separately compared, and by means of which they are brought together in the conclusion. --Brande.

{Middle tint} (Paint.), a subdued or neutral tint. --Fairholt.

{Middle voice}. (Gram.) See under {Voice}.

{Middle watch}, the period from midnight to four a. m.; also, the men on watch during that time. --Ham. Nav. Encyc.

{Middle weight}, a pugilist, boxer, or wrestler classed as of medium weight, i. e., over 140 and not over 160 lbs., in distinction from those classed as {light weights}, {heavy weights}, etc. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Middle passage — Passage Pas sage, n. [F. passage. See {Pass}, v. i.] 1. The act of passing; transit from one place to another; movement from point to point; a going by, over, across, or through; as, the passage of a man or a carriage; the passage of a ship or a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • middle passage — n. the passage across the Atlantic from W Africa to the West Indies or America that was the route of the former slave trade …   English World dictionary

  • middle passage — 1788, in reference to the trans Atlantic slave trade …   Etymology dictionary

  • Middle Passage — This article is about the slave trade route. For the novel by Charles R. Johnson, see Middle Passage (novel). For the travelogue by V.S. Naipaul, see The Middle Passage (book). Commercial goods from Europe were shipped to Africa for sale and… …   Wikipedia

  • middle passage — Hist. the part of the Atlantic Ocean between the west coast of Africa and the West Indies: the longest part of the journey formerly made by slave ships. Also, Middle Passage. [1780 90] * * * ▪ slave trade  in the days of the African slave trade… …   Universalium

  • middle passage — noun Specifically, the middle part of the sea voyage by which slaves were transported from Africa to America. The city once laid claim to the largest fleet of slave ships in the history of the trade as its merchants overtook Bristol and London in …   Wiktionary

  • middle passage — noun Usage: often capitalized M&P : the middle part of the journey of a slave from Africa to America; specifically : the trip across the Atlantic ocean half died on the way to the ships, and a quarter in the Middle Passage G.S.Mitchell …   Useful english dictionary

  • Middle Passage — Der Begriff Atlantischer Sklavenhandel bezieht sich auf die im 16. Jahrhundert einsetzende Versklavung der Bewohner des westlichen, zentralen und südlichen Afrikas durch die Europäer und ihren Transport über den Atlantik nach Nordamerika,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Middle Passage (novel) — Middle Passage   1st edition cover …   Wikipedia

  • Middle Passage — route of the slavers across the middle of the Atlantic between West Africa and the West Indies …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

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