[me.dia] n, pl me.di.ae (1841) 1 [LL, fr. L, fem. of medius; fr. the voiced stops' being regarded as intermediate between the tenues and the aspirates]: a voiced stop
2. [NL, fr. L]: the middle coat of the wall of a blood or lymph vessel consisting chiefly of circular muscle fibers
[2]media n, pl me.di.as often attrib [pl. of medium] (1923) 1: a medium of cultivation, conveyance, or expression; esp: medium 2b
2. a sing or pl in constr: mass media b pl: members of the mass media usage The singular media and its plural medias seem to have originated in the field of advertising over 50 years ago; they are apparently still so used without stigma in that specialized field. In most other applications media is used as a plural of medium. The great popularity of the word in references to the agencies of mass communication is leading to the formation of a mass noun, construed as a singular "there's no basis for it. You know, the news media gets on to something --Edwin Meese 3d" "the media is less interested in the party's policies --James Lewis, Guardian Weekly". This use is not as well established as the mass-noun use of data and is likely to incur criticism esp. in writing.