MIDDLES
Noun
middles
plural of middle
Source: Wiktionary
MIDDLE
Mid"dle, a. Etym: [OE. middel, AS. middel; akin to D. middel, OHG.
muttil, G. mittel. Mid, a.]
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.
2. Intermediate; intervening.
Will, seeking good, finds many middle ends. Sir J. Davies.
Note: Middle is sometimes used in the formation of selfexplaining
compounds; as, middle-sized, middle-witted. 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
The middle-class electorate of Great Britain. M. Arnold.
– 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 170º and 230º Centigrade; --
distinguished from the light, and the heavy 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.
Mid"dle, n. Etym: [AS. middel. See Middle, a.]
Definition: The point or part equally distant from the extremities or
exterior limits, as of a line, a surface, or a solid; an intervening
point or part in space, time, or order of series; the midst; central
portion; specif., the waist. Chaucer. "The middle of the land." Judg.
ix. 37.
In this, as in most questions of state, there is a middle. Burke.
Syn.
– See Midst.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition