~ 1 [ 'mi:dɪə ]
■ noun
1》 plural form of medium .
2》 [treated as sing. or plural ] the main means of mass communication (especially television, radio, and newspapers) regarded collectively.
Usage
The word ~ comes from the Latin plural of medium . The traditional view is that it should therefore be treated as a plural noun in all its senses in English. In practice, in the sense ‘television, radio, and the press collectively’, it behaves as a collective noun (like staff or clergy , for example), which means that it is acceptable in standard English for it to take either a singular or a plural verb.
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~ 2 [ 'mi:dɪə ]
■ noun ( plural ~e -dɪi: ) Anatomy an inter~te layer, especially in the wall of a blood vessel.
Origin
C19: shortening of mod. L. tunica (or membrana ) ~ 'middle sheath (or layer)'.