medius
[ˈmɛ.di.ʊs]
Middle in Latin is medius.
medius is an adjective meaning in the middle. Latin usually says the middle of something by putting this adjective with the noun, so media urbs means the middle of the city. The neuter form medium can also stand alone as a noun meaning the middle or the center.
Meaning: centre, midpoint (noun)
Which one should you use?
Word order matters. urbs media means the middle city, while media urbs means the middle of the city.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
medius agrees with its noun, giving medius, media and medium. To say in the middle, use in medio. For movement to the middle, use ad medium.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not look for a separate noun for the middle of a place. Use medius agreeing with the place, as in media urbs.
Did you know?
- The Latin word medium provided the root for the English 'medium' in the sense of a psychic, as they are seen as a 'middle' person between the living and the dead.
- The word medius is part of a massive linguistic family that includes the Sanskrit 'madhya' and the Persian 'mian'.
- The phrase in mediās rēs is famously used in Virgil's 'Aeneid', where the story opens with Aeneas already in the midst of his journey rather than at the fall of Troy.
Examples in context
- urbs mediaThe middle cityurbs media with the adjective after the noun means the middle city.
- media urbsThe middle of the citymedia urbs with the adjective first means the middle of the city.
- in mediās rēsInto the middle of thingsin mediās rēs is the classic phrase for starting a story in the middle of the action.
Example conversation
Quintus and Aurelia are organizing a table for a feast.
- QuintusUbi ponamur vasa, Aurelia?Where should the dishes be placed, Aurelia?
- AureliaPone ea in medius mensae.Place them in the middle of the table.
- QuintusHic est medius?Is this the middle?
- AureliaIta, ibi sunt optima.Yes, they are best there.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry medius, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries medius, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Wiktionary CC BY-SA 4.0.
