medium
Definitions
A means or channel by which something is communicated or carried out.
媒介，手段，途径。
A substance through which something travels or acts (e.g. air, water).
介质（如空气、水等传播或作用的物质）。
A person who claims to communicate between the living and the dead.
灵媒，通灵者。
Of middle size, amount, or degree; intermediate; average.
中等的，中号的，适中的。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedmedi (middle) + Latin -um (thing) = 'the thing in the middle.' A medium sits between two parties and carries something across: air carries sound (a physical medium), a newspaper carries news (a communication medium), a medium size is halfway between small and large. Even a 'medium' (psychic) claims to be the in-between channel to the dead. One idea — the in-between — runs through every sense.
Root medi still carries 48 more wordsUsage Guide
- Plural split: 'media' is the plural for channels of communication and for physics (storage media); 'mediums' is the plural for psychics and for artistic forms.
- media as singular vs plural: strictly plural ('the media are...'), but increasingly treated as a singular mass noun in everyday speech ('the media is...').
- medium as adjective: medium-rare, medium build, medium-term — sits between two extremes.
Example Sentences
- 1.
Television is still a powerful medium for reaching older audiences.
- 2.
Sound cannot travel through a vacuum because it needs a medium.
- 3.
I'll have a medium coffee, please — not too big.
- 4.
She works in a creative medium that mixes painting and video.