Middle Ages

Middle Ages
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 Ages — • A term commonly used to designate that period of European history between the Fall of the Roman Empire and about the middle of the fifteenth century Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Middle Ages     Middle Ages …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Middle Ages — n the Middle Ages the period in European history between about 1100 and 1500 AD …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Middle Ages — period between ancient and modern times (formerly roughly 500 1500 C.E., now more usually 1000 1500), attested from 1610s, translating L. medium aevum (Cf. Ger. mittelalter, Fr. moyen áge) …   Etymology dictionary

  • Middle Ages — ► PLURAL NOUN ▪ the period of European history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West (5th century) to the fall of Constantinople (1453), or, more narrowly, from c.1000 to 1453 …   English terms dictionary

  • Middle Ages — n. the period of European history between ancient and modern times, A.D. 476 c. 1450 …   English World dictionary

  • Middle Ages — For other uses, see Middle Ages (disambiguation). Medieval and Mediaeval redirect here. For other uses, see Medieval (disambiguation) …   Wikipedia

  • Middle Ages — the time in European history between classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance (from about 500 A.D. to about 1350): sometimes restricted to the later part of this period (after 1100) and sometimes extended to 1450 or 1500. [1715 25; pl. of… …   Universalium

  • Middle Ages — noun the period of history between classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance (Freq. 5) • Syn: ↑Dark Ages • Members of this Topic: ↑bloodletting, ↑cannon, ↑chain mail, ↑ring mail, ↑mail, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • Middle Ages —    Historical term used in all Western languages to des ignate the thousand year period from the disintegration of the ancient Roman political and social system in the fourth and fifth centuries to the beginning of the Renaissance. The term was… …   Historical Dictionary of Renaissance

  • Middle Ages — noun /ˌmɪd.l̩ ˈeɪ.dʒɪz/ The period of time in Europe between the decline of the Roman Empire and the revival of letters (the Renaissance) or, according to , the period beginning with the sixth and ending with the fifteenth century. She could see… …   Wiktionary

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