Etymograph

English

midward

Midward comes from Old English middeweard ‘midward, the middle of’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *me ‘near, by, with’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*me1‘near, by, with’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyos2‘middle’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*midjaz3‘middle, mid’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*midjǭ4‘middle, center’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150midde5‘middle’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150middeweard6‘midward, the middle of’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500midward6
  8. Englishtodaymidward6

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *midjaz
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *midjǭ
  4. 4 Wiktionary, Old English midde
  5. 5 Wiktionary, Old English middeweard
  6. 6 Wiktionary, English midward

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos‘near, by, with’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyosWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *midjaz‘middle’reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*midjazWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *midjǭ‘middle, mid’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*midjǭWiktionary, Old English midde‘middle, center’reconstructed
  5. Old Englishc. 450–1150middeWiktionary, Old English middeweard‘middle’
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150middeweardWiktionary, English midward‘midward, the middle of’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500midwardWiktionary, English midward
  8. EnglishtodaymidwardWiktionary, English midward

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *me ‘near, by, with’

median, mediation, mediator, mediate, 20 more

through Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ‘middle’

mean, media, medium, medal, demi, mezzanine, moiety, medulla, maidan, meso, medio, moyen, intermezzo, 31 more

through Proto-Germanic *midjaz ‘middle, mid’

mid, 1 more

through Old English midde ‘middle’

midst

Today it means

adv In or toward the middle.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “midward”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos, Proto-Germanic *midjaz, Proto-Germanic *midjǭ, Old English midde, Old English middeweard. 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 / midward

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