media 1
/mee"dee euh/ , n.
1. a pl. of medium .
2. ( usually used with a pl. v. ) the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely: The media are covering the speech tonight.
adj.
3. pertaining to or concerned with such means: a job in media research.
Usage . MEDIA, like data, is the plural form of a word borrowed directly from Latin. The singular, MEDIUM, early developed the meaning "an intervening agency, means, or instrument" and was first applied to newspapers two centuries ago. In the 1920s MEDIA began to appear as a singular collective noun, sometimes with the plural MEDIAS. This singular use is now common in the fields of mass communication and advertising, but it is not frequently found outside them: The media is (or are ) not antibusiness.
media 2
/mee"dee euh/ , n. , pl. mediae /-dee ee'/ .
1. Gk. Gram. a voiced plosive, as /b, d, g/ .
2. Anat. the middle layer of an artery or lymphatic vessel.
3. Entomol. a longitudinal vein in the middle portion of the wing of an insect.
[ 1835-45; medius central, MID 1 ]