I. ˈmēdēən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French mediane, from Medieval Latin mediana ( vena ), from Latin mediana (feminine of medianus median) + vena vein
1. : a median part (as a vein, nerve, or scale)
2. : a value in an ordered set of quantities below and above which fall an equal number of quantities or which is the arithmetic mean of the two middle values if there is no one middle number
the median of the set 19, 20, 36, is 20, that of the set 19, 20, 21, 22 is 20.5
3.
a. : a line from a vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side
b. : a line joining the midpoints of the nonparallel sides of a trapezoid
4. : median strip
Synonyms: see average
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle French or Latin; Middle French, from Latin medianus, from medius middle + -anus -an — more at mid
1. : being in the middle : occupying an intermediate position : medial
was presumably of the median sexual type — H.S.Canby
2. : equivalent in lightness to median gray
3. : of, relating to, or constituting a statistical median
4. : situated in the middle ; specifically : lying in a plane dividing a bilateral animal into right and left halves — used especially of unpaired organs and parts
median fins
5. phonetics : produced without occlusion along the lengthwise middle line of the tongue — compare lateral
• me·di·an·ly adverb
III. adjective
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Media, ancient country in southern Asia (from Latin, from Greek Mēdia ) + English -an
1.
a. : of, relating to, or characteristic of ancient Media in Persia
b. : of, relating to, or characteristic of the people of Media
2. : of, relating to, or characteristic of the Median language
IV. noun
( -s )
Usage: capitalized
1. : a native or inhabitant of Media
2. : the Iranian language of ancient Media
V. noun
1. : a vertical line that divides the histogram of a frequency distribution into two parts of equal area
2. : a value of a random variable for which all greater values make the distribution function greater than one half and all lesser values make it less than one half