middlingness 
middlingness (mid'ling-nes), H. The state of 
being middling; mediocrity. 
I make it a virtue to be content with my middlingness; 
... it is always pardonable, so that one does not ask 
others to take it for superiority. 
George Eliot, Daniel Deronda, xxxv. 
middy (mid'i), . ; pi. middies (-iz). A colloquial 
diminutive of mtefi, an abbreviation of midskip- 
3756 
series of brachycerous Diptera, with clavate 
antennas of which the third joint has several 
segments, typified by the genus Midas. There 
are several other genera and about 100 species. 
uididonet, adv. [ME., prop, a phrase, mid 
idone : mid, with ; idone, pp. of don, do ; used as 
a noun, doing: see done.] Quickly; immedi- 
ately. Halliwell. 
Gil is ogain went ful sone, 
And al his feren midydone. 
Gy of Warwike, p. 69. 
midethmoid (mid'eth-moid), a. and n. [< mid 1 
+ ethmoid.'] Same as mescthmoid. 
midfeather (mid ' feTH ' er), , [< mid 1 + 
feather.] A hollow horizontal septum in the 
furnace of a steam-boiler, which, being filled 
with water, forms a sort of water-bridge, under 
and over which the flame of the fuel is caused mid-impediment (mid'im-ped'i-ment), . 
to pass. The midfeather thus adds a very effective """'" ' ~~ *~* 
heating surface, while retaining the incandescent gases 
The cherl bent his bowe Bone, 
And smut a doke mididone. 
midshipman 
Where, by the solemn gleam of midnight lamps, 
The world is poised. 
Thomson, Castle of Indolence, ii. 60. 
Midnight appointments. See appointment. Mid- 
night sun. See sun. 
midnightt (mid'nit), v. t. [< midnight, .] To 
obscure; dim; darken. 
It cannot but most midnight the soul of him that is fain. 
Feltham, Resolves, p. 93. 
mid-noon (mid'non), . The middle of the day ; 
noon. 
Seems another morn 
Risen on mid-noon. Milton, P. L., v. 311. 
mid-off (mid'of), n. In cricket, same as mid- 
they i 
Miqgard (mid'gard), n. [< Icel. midhgardhr, lit, 
'mid-yard': see middenerd.] In Scand. myth., 
the abode of the human race, formed out of the 
eyebrows of Ymer, one of the first giants, and 
joined to Asgard, or the abode of the gods, by 
the rainbow-bridge. See Asgard. 
midge (mij), . [< ME. mydge, migge, mygge, 
myge, < AS.mycg, mygge, micge, a midge, gnat, = 
OS. muggia = MD. mugglie, D. mug = MLG. 
mugge, LG. mugge=QHGt. mucca, muggd, MHG. 
mucke, mucke, mugge, milgge, a midge, fly, G. 
mucke, a midge, dial, a fly, = Icel. my = Sw. 
m WQ, viygga = Dan. myg, a midge, = Pol. 
Russ. mukha = Bohem. maucha, a fly ; prob. lit. 
'buzzer' (cf. the similar lit. sense of breeze 1 , a 
. 
. . , Dryden, Annus Mirabilis, st 171. 
gadfly, and of humblebee), akin to Gr. fivKaaOai, midlayer (mid'la^er), n. In biol., same as 
low; cf. also L. mugire, low (see mugient), Gr. mesoderm. 
jiv&iv, mutter; an ult. imitative root. The L. nudleg (mid'leg), n. 1. The middle of the leg. 
musca = Gr. fivla, etc., a fly, is not related: 
see Musca.] 1. A two-winged fly of the order 
Diptera and suborder Nemocera; a gnat or some 
insect resembling one : a popular name ap- P?i r f legs of an insect 
plied with little discrimination to many differ- Mid-Lent (mid'lent), . 
ent insects. They chiefly belong to the families Simula, 
dee, Tipulidce, Chironomid<e, and Culifidce. The term is 
sometimes specifically applied to the Chironomida. The 
eggs of midges of the last-named family, like those of mos- 
Mid-Lent 
Arthour and Merlin, p. 154. wicket off. See midwicket. 
__ ... iii mid-on (mid'on'), n. In cricket, same as mid- 
Scots law, an intermediate bar to the comple- wicket on. See midwicket. 
tion of a right. Imp. Diet. mid-parent (mid'par'ent), n. A hypothetical 
nidiomi ,,,,;.IM. .... i > , .,,,,q r/,,;ji -L / ,7i i parent whose stature is taken to be a mean be- 
tween the actual stature of a father and that of 
a mother. See the extract. 
If we take the height of the father and the height of 
the mother multiplied by 1.08 the ratio of male to fe- 
male stature draw the mean between the two, and call 
this the height of the mid-parent, then the height of the 
child will be nearer to the average of the race than the 
height of the mid-parent. Science, XIII. 266. 
mid-parentage (mid'par"en-taj), n. The char- 
acter or quality of a hypothetical mid-parent. 
By the use of this word ["deviate"] and that of mid- 
parentage, we can define the law of regression very briefly. 
Gotten, Science, VI. 270. 
Midrash (mid'rash), . [Heb. midhrdsh, com- 
mentary, exposition, < ddrash, tread, frequent, 
seek, search, apply oneself to.] 1. In Jewish 
lit., exegesis, interpretation, or exposition of 
the Hebrew Scriptures. Specifically the word de- 
notes haggadic or free interpretation or exposition of a 
homiletic, allegorical, and popular nature, interspersed 
with maxims and ethical sayings of eminent men, and with 
illustrations drawn from the natural world, as well as from 
all departments of human learning and experience. Com- 
pare haggadah, 
2. An exposition or discourse of this kind, or a 
collection of such expositions or discourses : as, 
the Midrash on Samuel; the Midrash on the 
Psalms. In this sense the plural is Midrashim, 
occasionally Midrashoth. 
Midrashic (mi-drash'ik), a. [< Midrash + -ic.] 
Of or pertaining to or akin to the Midrash ; hag- 
: a country : especially 
applied to the inland central part of England, 
usually in the plural. 
Upon the midlands now the industrious Muse doth fall. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, riii. 1. 
II. a. 1. Being in the interior country ; dis- 
tant from the coast or sea-shore: as, midland 
towns ; the midland counties of England. 
Mr. Grazinglands, of the Midland Counties. 
Dickens, Uncommercial Traveller, vi. 
2. Surrounded by land; inland; mediterranean. 
[Rare.] 
There was the Plymouth squadron new come in, 
Which ... on the midland sea the French had awed. 
Then wash their feete to the mid-legge, saying another 
Psalme. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 292. 
2. In entom., one of the intermediate or second 
< mid 1 + Lent 1 .] 
in Lent. 
[Late ME. mudlent; 
The middle or fourth Sunday 
The ffryday a for mydlent, that was Seynt Cuthberdy's 
Day- Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 1. 
face, and the imago or perfect insect emerges. See Tgnat. gadic? 
fsh S 7dwar^a 8 milet f "! ^ "f, ^ ^ ' AjSfi^^S^<MMS Very few sayings in Greek are quoted in the ^r^ 
Sa^St^-tssuMS: SSS^^s&" d ^ ItaownIvS: mSbTmid'rib) i.tSTiI35S 
casionally taken on both the American and European Bourne's POD Arilio <mn n <!2f) nntp ,5c in Opt., tne middle (Ol- 
coasts, is supposed to be the fry of a codling of the genus . ,, ^' T"* \ <7)l p ' 329 ' note ' ten the only) rib or nerve of a leaf; a continu- 
*" "S* 1 ? 881 ( mid les >. l< mid 1 , n., + less.] ation of the petiole, extending from the base to 
T i f e rir- 8ma one - horse carriage used in the Without middle or core. [Bare.] the apex of the lamina. See nervation. 2. In 
Isle ot Wight, England. Tis nought but All, in 't selfe including All ; apiculture, the septum or partition between the 
midget (mij et), n. [< midge + -et.] A little An vn-beginning, midless, endless Ball. two sheets of cells which are found in everv 
midge ; hence, something very small for its Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. i. comb- PUn ^ Dict Apiculture, Int., p. xiii 
kind; a very small dwarf; also, a sprightly mid-mam (mid'man), n. The middle of the midribbed (mid'ribd), a. [< midrib + -ed% 1 
small child. [Colloq.] ocean ; a locality far out at sea. Chapman. F_urnished with a midrib. 
Now you know Parson Kendall's a little midget of a ^lid-morn (mid'morn), n. Nine o'clock in the midridt, n. [Early mod. E. midridde: < ME. 
man rr n fu . i . ~ w> 1-1 ivn i n ,1. E7V. 7 7,T ,. 7 7 rT> TS_..^ -.-/ -I--*. 
mid-gut (mid'gut), . 
Huxley, Crayfish, p. 67. 
mid-heaven (mid'hev''^, n. 
of the sky or of heaven. 
From mid-heaven already she 
Hath witnessed their captivity. 
Wordsworth, White Doe of Kylstonu, iv. 
2. In astron., the meridian of a place. 
mid-hour (mid'our), . 1. The middle part of 
the day; midday. 2. An hour between two 
specified hours. 
Lead on then where thy bower 
ershades ; for these mid-hours, till evening rise, 
1 have at will. Hilton, P. L., v. 376. 
Midianite (mid'i-an-it), n. and a. 
Madianitai, pi. ; < Madian, < Heb. Midyan, Mid- 
ian (see del).] I. n. In Biblical hist., one of a 
wanderingtribeorconfederation of tribes dwell- 
ing in the desert east and south of Palestine. 
II. a. Pertaining to the Midianites. 
Midianitish (mid'i-an-I"tish), a. [< Midian- 
ite + -ish 1 .] Same as Midianite. 
Mididae (mid'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Midas + 
-idte.] I . An American family of small platyr- 
rhine quadrumanous mammals ; the marmosets 
or squirrel-monkeys. They differ from other mon- 
keys in having 32 teeth, and the same dental formula as 
man, and in having hands all the digits of which are in 
the same plane and armed with claws instead of nails, the 
thumb being not apposable. The tail is long and bushy 
and the general aspect is rather that of squirrels than of 
monkeys. There are many species, confined to wooded re- 
gions of the warmer parts of America, known as mqouins 
a. B. stovx, ToidtownVp. ~irT. morning. Halliwell. [Pro v. Eng.] 
See gut and mesogaster. mid-morrow(mid'mor''6), n. The middle of the 
forenoon; nine o'clock in the morning. [Ob- 
1. The middle solete or Provincial.] 
It was nought passed yet midmnroice. 
dower, Conf. Aniunt ., viii. 
midmost (mid'most), a. superl. [< mid 1 + 
UAUXAUI, 't. L-i^ttiijt uiuu. Oh nitut tuue j \ ivi r., 
mydryde, mydrede, midreden, < AS. midhrithere, 
midhrythere, midhrythre, midhridir (= OFries. 
midrithere, midrcde, midrith = MLG. middere), 
the membrane inclosing the entrails, < mid, mid, 
+ hrethere, hrcether, breast, bosom. A diff. 
word from midriff, with which it has been con- 
fused.] The membrane inclosing the entrails. 
-most.} Being in the very middle ; middlemost; midriff, midrif (mid'rif), n. [Early mod. E. 
innermost. 
The midmost had a gracefu' mien, . . 
But the youngest look'd like beauty's queen. 
The Cruel Brother (Child's Ballads, II. 252). 
Save he be 
Fool to the midmost marrow of his bones, 
He will return no more. 
Tennyson, Pelleas and Ettarre. 
t ' - L / midnight (mid'nit), n. and a. [< ME. midnight, 
midnyght, mydnyght, alsomiddelnigte,< AS. mid- 
niht (also middelniht) (= D. MLG. middernacht 
= OHG. mittinaht, MHG. mitnaht, G. mitter- 
nacht (D. MLG. midder-, G. mitter-, orig. dat. of 
the adj.) = Icel. midhtmtti = Sw. midnatt = 
Dan. midnaf), < mid, middle, + niht, night.] I. 
. The middle of the night ; twelve o'clock at 
night. 
For whenne the Sonne is Est in tho partyes, toward 
Paradys terrestre, it is thanne mydnyght, in cure parties o 
this half, for the rowndeness of the Erthe. 
Xandemlle, Travels, p. 303. 
The iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve. 
*., M. N. D., v. 1. 370. 
also midrife, midriffc, middryfe; < ME. midrif, 
midref, mydderefe, < AS. midhrif, midrif (= 
OFries. midref = D. midrif (cf. MD. middelrif, 
middelrift = MLG. middelrif, LG. middelreff, 
middelriff), the diaphragm, < mid, middle, + 
hrif = OFries. ref, belly. Cf. midrid.] The 
diaphragm. See cut at diaphragm. 
But, surah, there's no room for faith, truth, nor honesty 
s all filled up with guts and 
Shak., 1 Hen. IV., ill. 3. 175. 
, , om or a, ru, no 
in this bosom of thine ; it is all filled up with 
midrif. 
A sight to shake 
The midri/of despair with laughter. 
Tennyson, Princess, i. 
mid-sea (mid'se), , The middle of the sea ; the 
open sea. 
Fish that, with their fins, and shining scales, 
(Hide under the green wave, in sculls that oft 
Bank the mid sea. Milton, P. L., vii. 403. 
midship (mid'ship), a. 
s.] 
-. . r r, C< ""'f' 1 + ship; orig. 
due to midships.] Being or belonging to the 
middle of a ship: as, a midship beam Midship 
bend, midship frame. Same as dead-flat 
II. a. Pertaining to or occurring in the mid- midshipman (mid'ship-man), .; pi. midsliiji- 
, 
ousMw. tamarins, etc. (See marmoset.) The family is also 
called Hapalidas, Jacchidtn, and Arctopithecini. 
2. In entom., a small family of large, moderate- 
ly bristly flies belonging to the tetrachwtous 
dle of the night: as, midnight studies. 
We spend our mid-day sweat, our midnight oil " 
We tire the night in thought, the day in toil. 
Quarles, Emblems, ii. 2. 
Forth at midnight hour he fares, the silent tomb desert- 
ing. Constantine and Arete (Child's Ballads, I. 308). 
men (-men). [So called with ref. to his place 
or station when on duty aboard ship, which is 
amidships or abreast the mainmast; < midship-s 
+ man.] 1. A warrant officer in the British 
navy of the lowest grade of officers in the line 
of promotion. His special duties are to pass the orders 
