Middle England
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and the countries of the Arabian Peninsula. When American
and British people think of the Middle East, they think
especially of the religion of ISLAM (because most of the
people in these countries are Muslims); of the oil industry
(because there are many important oil producing countries
in the area); and of political problems, such as the wars
against Iraq in 1991 and 2003, the attempts to bring peace
in Israel etc → compare FAR EAST → Middle Eastern adj
,Middle 'England n [U] ordinary English people, who are
neither very poor nor very rich, who are usually fairly CON-
SERVATIVE (=traditional and perhaps rather old-fashioned) in
their way of life and opinions, and who usually live outside
London → compare MIDDLE AMERICA
,Middle 'English written abbrev. ME n [U] the form of English
used from about AD 1050 to 1500, which developed from OLD
ENGLISH into MODERN ENGLISH. The poems of Chaucer are
written in Middle English.
,middle 'finger n the longest finger, in the middle of the
five fingers of the hand → see picture at HAND
,middle 'ground n [U] a point of view that tries to account
for two others that are very different from each other; COM-
PROMISE
mid·dle·man /'mɪdlmæn/ n pl. -men /men/ a person who
buys goods from a producer, and sells to a shopkeeper or
directly to a user
,middle 'management n [U+sing./pl. v] (the level or rank of)
people in a business company who are in charge of depart-
ments and groups within it, but are below those who make
the main decisions about how the company is run
Mid·dle·march /'mɪdlmɑːtʃ||-mɑːrtʃ/ (1871) a novel by
George ELIOT about the people who live in an imaginary
town in central England called Middlemarch during a time
of social and economic change. It is considered to be one of
the greatest novels in English literature.
,middle 'name n 1 a name coming between the FIRST NAME
and the SURNAME
CULTURAL NOTE It is common in both the US and the UK
for people to have one or more middle names, though
they usually do not use these names. Some people give
their children middle names that are the same as the first
name of someone else in the family, for example a
grandparent. Some people have more than one middle
name. In the US, people often include the first letter of
their middle name as part of their name, for example
Michael J. Fox, especially in their SIGNATURE or on official
forms or lists.
2 one's middle name infml a main part of one's character:
Generosity is her middle name. (=she is very generous)
,middle of 'nowhere, the n [+S] infml derog a place far away
from towns, cities etc: She lives in a little house out in the
middle of nowhere.
,middle-of-the-'road adj sometimes derog liking, holding, or
being ideas, forms of expression etc that most other people
like, and that do not make them angry or upset; not EXTREME:
a middle-of-the-road candidate | middle-of-the-road music/
political views
'middle school n 1 [C;U] (in certain countries) a school for
children between the ages of 9 and 13 or 11 and 14 2 [the S]
(in Britain) a part of a SECONDARY school for children of
about 14 and 15 3 (in the US) a JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL which
includes GRADES 7 and 8 (ages 12 and 13) and either grade 6
or grade 9 → compare JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL; see also HIGH
SCHOOL
,middle-'sized adj neither very large nor very small
,Middle 'Temple, the a London organization of law stu-
dents and BARRISTERS and the buildings they use, which is
one of the four INNS of COURT
Mid·dle·ton, Thomas /'mɪdl-tən/ (1580–1627) an English
writer of plays who wrote SATIRICAL comedies (COMEDY¹)
and tragedies (TRAGEDY¹), including Women Beware Women
mid·dle·weight /'mɪdlweɪt/ n a BOXER heavier than a
WELTERWEIGHT but lighter than a LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
mid·dling /'mɪdlɪŋ/ adj infml between large and small, good
and bad etc; average: 'How are you feeling now?' 'Oh fair to
middling.' (=fairly well, but not very well)
mid·field /'mɪdfiːld/ n [U] 1 the middle part of a playing
field, especially in football, that is midway between the
GOALS 2 the players on a team that usually play in midfield
mid·field·er /'mɪdfiːldər/ n (in sports such as football or
LACROSSE) one of the players in a team who normally plays
in midfield
midge /mɪdʒ/ n a very small flying and biting insect, like a
MOSQUITO
midget¹/'mɪdʒɪt/ n taboo an offensive word for a very small
or unusually small person → compare DWARF
midget² adj [A] very small: a midget submarine
Mid Gla·mor·gan /ˌmɪd glə'mɔːgən||-'mɔːr-/ written abbrev.
M Glam a COUNTY in southeast Wales, known formerly for
its coal mines, but most of these have now been closed
mid·i /'mɪdi/ n a woman's skirt that comes to between the
knee and ankle
Mi·di /miː'diː/ the southern part of France, usually thought
of by British people as a place to go for a holiday: a holiday
cottage in the Midi
MIDI /'mɪdi/ n abbrev. for Musical Instrument Digital Interface; a
piece of ELECTRONIC equipment which allows electronic
musical instruments and computers to be connected
together. Music can be stored and changed on a computer
that has a MIDI system.
mid·land /'mɪdlənd/ adj [A] of the middle part of a country
,Midland 'Bank, the also the Midland trademark the
former name for the HSBC, one of the main British banks
Mid·land·er /'mɪdlændər/ n someone who comes from the
English Midlands
Mid·lands, the /'mɪdləndz/ [P] the central part of England
around Birmingham, known for its car factories and its LIGHT
INDUSTRY (=factories that produce small goods, such as
things for the home) → Midland adj
Mid·ler, Bette /'mɪdlər, bet/ (1945–) a US actress and singer
whose films include The Rose (1973) and The First Wives Club
(1996)
,mid-life 'crisis n a continuing feeling of unhappiness, lack
of confidence etc suffered by someone in the middle years
of their life, when they feel that their youth has ended,
usually about the age of 40 → compare MALE MENOPAUSE,
MENOPAUSE, MIDDLE AGE
mid·most /'mɪdməʊst/ adj [A] lit in the exact middle: in the
midmost part of the forest
mid·night /'mɪdnaɪt/ n [U] the middle of the night; 12
o'clock at night: We close at midnight. | He didn't come in till
after/past midnight. | The programme isn't on until a quarter
to midnight. | The doctor received a midnight call. → compare
MIDDAY; see also burn the midnight oil (BURN¹)
,midnight 'feast n a small amount of food eaten late at
night, especially sweet things eaten secretly by children at a
BOARDING SCHOOL after they have gone to bed
,Midnight 'Mass n [C;U] a special Christian religious service
held at midnight on Christmas Eve, to celebrate Christmas
and the birth of Christ
,midnight 'sun, the the sun seen in the middle of the
night at midnight in the very far north or south of the
world
mid·point /'mɪdpɔɪnt/ n [(of) usually sing.] a point at or near
the centre or middle: We are now at the midpoint of this
government's period of office.
'mid-range adj [A] (of products and services) not the most
expensive or the cheapest → compare TOP-OF-THE-RANGE
mid·riff /'mɪdrɪf/ n 1 infml the part of the human body
between the chest and the waist: The punch caught him in
the midriff. 2 midriff bulge especially AmE MIDDLE-AGED
SPREAD
mid·ship·man /'mɪdʃɪpmən/ n pl. -men /mən/ The rank of
someone who is training to become an officer in the Royal
Navy → see TABLE 3
midst¹ /'mɪdst/ n in the midst of a) in the middle of b) lit
among: The enemy in our midst (=among us) c) lit sur-
rounded by: In the midst of all his troubles he managed to
remain cheerful.
midst² prep old use in the midst; among