middle (English)
Where does "middle" come from?
The English adjective 'middle' comes from Middle English 'middel'[1], which developed from Old English 'middel', referring to the middle, center, or waist[1][3]. This Old English word traces back to Proto-Germanic forms like '*midlą' and '*midilą', meaning 'middle'[1][2][3]. In Proto-Germanic, this noun formed as a diminutive of '*midjō', meaning 'middle' or 'midst'[1][3][5]. Ultimately, the term descends from the Proto-Indo-European root '*médʰyos', meaning 'between, in the middle, middle'[1][3], which was built from an adverb meaning 'near, by, with' combined with a locative suffix[4].
Open questions
- The exact Proto-Germanic parent form is reconstructed with several variant diminutive shapes, including '*midlą', '*midilą', and '*medalą'. [1] [2] [3]
Full etymology tree
- middle (English), 'Located in the middle; in between.'
- inherited middel (Middle English), 'The middle or centre of something.'
- inherited middel (Old English), 'middle, in the middle'
- inherited *midilą (Proto-Germanic)
- affix *midjō (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *médʰyos (Proto-Indo-European), 'middle'
- derived *me-dʰi (Proto-Indo-European)
- affix *me (Proto-Indo-European), 'in the middle of, near, by, around, with'
- suffix *-dʰe (Proto-Indo-European), 'locative suffix'
- derived *me-dʰi (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *médʰyos (Proto-Indo-European), 'middle'
- suffix *-ilą (Proto-Germanic)
- affix *midjō (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited *midilą (Proto-Germanic)
- inherited middel (Old English), 'middle, in the middle'
- inherited middel (Middle English), 'The middle or centre of something.'
Ancestors
- middel (Middle English)
- middel (Old English)
- *midlą (Proto-Germanic)
- *médʰyos (Proto-Indo-European)
Cognates and doublets
- middel (Dutch)
- mittel (German)
- meðal (Icelandic)
- Mëttel (Luxembourgish)
- middel (Norwegian Nynorsk)
- Middel (Saterland Frisian)
- medel (Swedish)
- mytuł (Vilamovian)
- mul (West Frisian)
- מיטל (Yiddish)
Descendants and derived words
- -er (English)
- alt-middle (English)
- anteromiddle (English)
- diddle for middle (English)
- down the middle (English)
- down the middle (English)
- -er (English)
- -er (English)
- -er (English)
- -er (English)
- -er (English)
- -er (English)
Sources
- middle (English) - Wiktionary
- middel (Middle English) - Wiktionary
- middel (Old English) - Wiktionary
- médʰyos (Proto-Indo-European) - Wiktionary
- midlą (Proto-Germanic) - Wiktionary
Updated October 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris