English
medius
Medius comes from Latin medius ‘middle’, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ‘between’, and ultimately from *me ‘near, by, with’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*me1‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyos2‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðios2‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedius3‘middle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1876medius3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin medius
- 3 Wiktionary, English medius
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1876, Medical and Surgical History of the War : “An analysis of the determined cases shows that the…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyosWiktionary, Latin medius‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðiosWiktionary, Latin medius‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmediusWiktionary, English medius‘middle’
- Englishearliest quotation 1876mediusWiktionary, English medius. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1876, Medical and Surgical History of the War : “An analysis of the determined cases shows that the…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ‘between’
mid, media, midst, maidan, meso, 26 more
through Proto-Italic *meðios ‘middle’
through Latin medius ‘middle’
mean, medal, demi, median, mediation, milieu, mediator, mezzanine, moiety, medial, mediate, moyen, medulla, intermezzo, medio, 18 more
Today it means
noun The middle finger.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “medius”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos, Latin medius. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *me / medius