Etymology Inherited from Middle English mid, midde, from Old English midd (“mid, middle, midway”), from Proto-West Germanic *midi, from Proto-Germanic *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognate with Dutch midden (“in the middle”), German Mitte (“center, middle, mean”), Icelandic miður (“middle”, adjective), Latin medius (“middle”, noun and adjective). See also middle. The slang sense may be influenced by terms such as middling and midwit.
1
No comparative Occupying a middle position; middle.
Passing through the silent village, he heard the clock tell the mid hour of night.1852, Herman Melville, Pierre; or The Ambiguities:
Though teams from China have hoisted the Summoner’s Cup, which goes to the Worlds champion, it’s always been South Korean mid laners who have starred on those teams. Erzberger said Knight wants to be the first Chinese mid laner to hoist that trophy — and maybe become a national treasure himself.2023 November 10, Daniel Brown, “League of Legends Worlds: Can ‘Golden Left Hand’ top ‘Faker’ to earn a grand slam?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 08 Jun 2024:
2
Human sciences, Linguistics, SciencesNo comparative Made with a somewhat elevated position of some certain part of the tongue, in relation to the palate; midway between the high and the low; said of certain vowel sounds, such as, [e o ɛ ɔ].
3
No comparative Mediocre; of middling quality.
The song is one of his best, but its real power comes from the accompanying, highly-stylized video wherein Lil Nas X breaks out of a prison populated with Black gay men (and, for an unspecified reason, Jack Harlow in an unseemly role as the Straight White Savior who delivers a verse that is mid at best and inappropriate at worst).2021 July 26, Reanna Cruz, “Lil Nas X, 'INDUSTRY BABY'”, in NPR, archived from the original on 27 May 2022:
I’ve watched all of these shows. They’re not bad. They’re simply … mid. Which is what makes them, frustratingly, as emblematic of the current moment in TV as their stars’ previous shows were of the ambitions of the past.2024 April 27, James Poniewozik, “The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2024:
2 more examples
In an era of AI slop and mid TV, is it time for cultural snobbery to make a comeback? [title]2025 September 28, Rachel Aroesti, “In an era of AI slop and mid TV, is it time for cultural snobbery to make a comeback?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 08 Oct 2025:
...it just seems devoid of passion; it's just so generic, so mid, and in some aspects just bad that it seems like it's a game that just exists to exist... (02:20)2026 January 28, “They're SO MAD that Gamers Rejected Highguard”, in YouTube:
4
Internet, Broadly, No comparative Trashy; low-quality.
Etymology Inherited from Middle English mid, midde, from Old English midd (“mid, middle, midway”), from Proto-West Germanic *midi, from Proto-Germanic *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognate with Dutch midden (“in the middle”), German Mitte (“center, middle, mean”), Icelandic miður (“middle”, adjective), Latin medius (“middle”, noun and adjective). See also middle. The slang sense may be influenced by terms such as middling and midwit.
Etymology Inherited from Middle English mid, midde, from Old English midd (“mid, middle, midway”), from Proto-West Germanic *midi, from Proto-Germanic *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognate with Dutch midden (“in the middle”), German Mitte (“center, middle, mean”), Icelandic miður (“middle”, adjective), Latin medius (“middle”, noun and adjective). See also middle. The slang sense may be influenced by terms such as middling and midwit.
Etymology Inherited from Middle English mid, midde, from Old English midd (“mid, middle, midway”), from Proto-West Germanic *midi, from Proto-Germanic *midjaz (“mid, middle”, adjective), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognate with Dutch midden (“in the middle”), German Mitte (“center, middle, mean”), Icelandic miður (“middle”, adjective), Latin medius (“middle”, noun and adjective). See also middle. The slang sense may be influenced by terms such as middling and midwit.
To shelter quivering natures, wrap them round / In downy softness, and impalace them / Mid fair magnificence, where all is found / Abundant as the longing heart can wish.1855, Alexander Carlile, Poems, page 70:
Etymology From Middle English mid, midde, from Old English midd (“midst, middle”, noun), from Proto-Germanic *midją, *midjǭ, *midjô (“middle, center”) < *midjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“between, in the middle, middle”). Cognate with German Mitte (“center, middle, midst”), Danish midje (“middle”), Icelandic midja (“middle”). See also median, Latin mediānus.
About the mid of night come to my tent.c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
mid
prep
Etymology From or representing German mit, and/or perhaps German Low German mid. Although Middle English had a native preposition mid with this same meaning ("with"), it had fallen out of general use by the mid 1400s and survived into the modern English period only in sporadic use and the compounds midwife and theremid.
1
With.
In representations of Dutch- or German-accented English
For quotations using this term, see Citations:mid.