n. [ AS. middel. See Middle, a. ] 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

In this, as in most questions of state, there is a middle. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- See Midst. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OE. middel, AS. middel; akin to D. middel, OHG. muttil, G. mittel. √271. See Mid, a. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Intermediate; intervening. [ 1913 Webster ]

Will, seeking good, finds many middle ends. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Middle is sometimes used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, middle-sized, middle-witted. [ 1913 Webster ]

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 [ 1913 Webster ] The middle-class electorate of Great Britain. M. Arnold. [ 1913 Webster ] --
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 170° and 230° Centigrade; -- distinguished from the light oil, and the heavy oil 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ Middle + age. Cf. Mediaeval. ] Of or pertaining to the Middle Ages; mediaeval. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Being about the middle of the ordinary age of man; early in the century, it was considered between 30 and 50 years old, but by the end of the 19th centruy it was considered as 40 to 60. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. The world, considered as lying between heaven and hell. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Paint.) That part of a picture between the foreground and the background. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. intermediate in rank or position; as, middle-level management. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n.; pl. Middlemen [ 1913 Webster ]

1. An agent between two parties; a broker; a go-between; any dealer between the producer and the consumer; in Ireland, one who takes land of the proprietors in large tracts, and then rents it out in small portions to the peasantry. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A person of intermediate rank; a commoner. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Mil.) The man who occupies a central position in a file of soldiers. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. Midmost. ] Being in the middle, or nearest the middle; midmost. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. supporting or pursuing a course of action that is neither liberal nor conservative.
Syn. -- centrist, moderate. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. not extreme, especially in political views. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

-- middle-of-the-roader, n. -- middle-of-the-roadism, n.