Part 7033

<hw>Mid"den crow"</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>. <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld> <def>The common European crow.</def> <mark>[Prov. Eng.]</mark>

<h1>Middest</h1> <Xpage=922>

<hw>Mid"dest</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt>; <tt>superl.</tt> of <er>Mid</er>. <ety>[See <er>Midst</er>.]</ety> <def>Situated most nearly in the middle; middlemost; midmost.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark> " 'Mongst the <i>middest</i> crowd."

<i>Spenser.</i>

<h1>Middest</h1> <Xpage=922>

<hw>Mid"dest</hw>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>Midst; middle.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<i>Fuller.</i>

<h1>Midding</h1> <Xpage=922>

<hw>Mid"ding</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>Same as <er>Midden</er>.</def>

<h1>Middle</h1> <Xpage=922>

<hw>Mid"dle</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <ety>[OE. <ets>middel</ets>, AS. <ets>middel</ets>; akin to D. <ets>middel</ets>, OHG. <ets>muttil</ets>, G. <ets>mittel</ets>. <?/<?/<?/<?/. See <er>Mid</er>, <tt>a.</tt>]</ety>

<p><b>1.</b> <def>Equally distant from the extreme either of a number of things or of one thing; mean; medial; <as>as, the <ex>middle</ex> house in a row; a <ex>middle</ex> rank or station in life; flowers of <ex>middle</ex> summer; men of <ex>middle</ex> age.</as></def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>Intermediate; intervening.</def>

<blockquote>Will, seeking good, finds many <b>middle</b> ends. <i>Sir J. Davies.</i></blockquote>

<note>&hand; <i>Middle</i> is sometimes used in the formation of selfexplaining compounds; as, <i>middle</i>-sized, <i>middle</i>-witted.</note>

<cs><col>Middle Ages</col>, <cd>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.</cd> -- <col>Middle class</col>, <cd>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</cd>

<blockquote>The <b>middle-class</b> electorate of Great Britain. <i>M. Arnold.</i></blockquote>

-- <col>Middle distance</col>. <fld>(Paint.)</fld> <cd>See <er>Middle-ground</er>.</cd> -- <col>Middle English</col>. <cd>See <er>English</er>, <tt>n.</tt>, 2.</cd> -- <col>Middle Kingdom</col>, <cd>China.</cd> -- <col>Middle oil</col> <fld>(Chem.)</fld>, <cd>that part of the distillate obtained from coal tar which passes over between 170&deg; and 230&deg; Centigrade; -- distinguished from the <i>light</i>, and the <i>heavy</i> or <i>dead</i>, <i>oil</i>.</cd> -- <col>Middle passage</col>, <cd>in the slave trade, that part of the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the West Indies.</cd> -- <col>Middle post</col>. <fld>(Arch.)</fld> <cd>Same as <er>King-post</er>.</cd> -- <col>Middle States</col>, <cd>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. <mark>[U.S.</cd>]</mark> -- <col>Middle term</col> <fld>(Logic)</fld>, <cd>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. <i>Brande</i>.</cd> -- <col>Middle tint</col> <fld>(Paint.)</fld>, <cd>a subdued or neutral tint. <i>Fairholt</i>.</cd> -- <col>Middle voice</col>. <fld>(Gram.)</fld> <cd>See under <er>Voice</er>.</cd> -- <col>Middle watch</col>, <cd>the period from midnight to four <sc>A. M.</sc>; also, the men on watch during that time. <i>Ham. Nav. Encyc</i>.</cd> -- <col>Middle weight</col>, <cd>a pugilist, boxer, or wrestler classed as of medium weight, <it>i. e.</it>, over 140 and not over 160 lbs., in distinction from those classed as <i>light weights</i>, <i>heavy weights</i>, etc.</cd></cs>

<h1>Middle</h1> <Xpage=922>

<hw>Mid"dle</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[AS. <ets>middel</ets>. See <er>Middle</er>, <tt>a.</tt>]</ety> <def>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.</def> <i>Chaucer</i>. "The <i>middle</i> of the land." <i>Judg. ix. 37</def>.

<blockquote>In this, as in most questions of state, there is a <b>middle</b>. <i>Burke.</i></blockquote>

<syn>Syn. -- See <er>Midst</er>.</syn>

<h1>Middle-age</h1> <Xpage=922>

<hw>Mid"dle-age`</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <ety>[<ets>Middle</ets> + <ets>age</ets>. Cf. <er>Medi\'91val</er>.]</ety> <def>Of or pertaining to the Middle Ages; medi\'91val.</def>

<h1>Middle-aged</h1> <Xpage=922>

<hw>Mid"dle-aged`</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <def>Being about the middle of the ordinary age of man; between 30 and 50 years old.</def><-- now considered as 40 to 60 !! -->

<h1>Middle-earth</h1> <Xpage=922>

<hw>Mid"dle-earth`</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>The world, considered as lying between heaven and hell.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark><-- a land in Tolkien's "Hobbit" and "Ring" books -->