Medium

English

Pronunciation

• mē'diəm, /ˈmiːdiəm/

  Rhymes: -iːdiəm

Noun

medium (see individual senses for plurals)

1. The nature of the surrounding environment, eg solid, liquid, gas, vacuum, or a specific substance such as a solvent.
2. The material or empty space through which signals, waves or forces pass.
3. A format for communicating or presenting information.
4. A nutrient solution for the growth of cells in vitro
5. The means or channel by which an aim is achieved.
6. A liquid base which carries pigment in paint.
7. Someone who supposedly conveys information from the spirit world
8. Anything having a measurement intermediate between extremes, such as a garment or container.
9. A person whom garments or apparel of intermediate size fit.

Quotations

• 1996 (sense 4): In some instances one can take advantage of differential carbohydrate fermentation capabilities of microorganisms by incorporating one or more carbohydrates in the medium along with a suitable pH indicator. Such media are called differential media (e.g., eosin methylene blue or MacConkey agar) and are commonly used to isolate enteric bacilli. — Medical Microbiology, ed. Samuel Baron, MD.

Communication

• Data storage device, any physical material that records or holds recorded information
  • Art medium, materials and techniques used by artists to produce art works
• Transmission medium, in physics and telecommunications, any material substance which can propagate waves or energy
  • Optical medium, material through which electromagnetic waves propagate

Economics

• Medium of exchange, any monetary instrument used to pay for goods and/or services

Education

• Medium of instruction, any language or other tools used to educate, train, or instruct

Measurement

• A point or degree near the middle of a spectrum or range. For example: The medium degree of doneness in cooking meat; see: temperature (meat)

Natural Science

In general, a medium is a material that is either itself undergoing a process that is being studied or used (e.g. transmission medium), or enabling another process of interest (e.g. growth medium). Specific examples include the following:

• Processing medium, in industrial engineering, a material that plays a role in manufacturing processes
• Excitable medium, a nonlinear dynamic system which has the capacity to propagate a wave
• Growth medium (or culture medium), in biotechnology, an object in which microorganisms or cells experience growth
• Interplanetary medium, in astronomy, material which fills the solar system
• Interstellar medium, in astronomy, the matter and energy content that exists between the stars within a galaxy

Paranormal and New Age

• Mediumship (see article on channel), a practice in which a person acts as an intermediary between the physical world and what is believed to be a spiritual world.

Titles/Names

Dramatic works

• The Medium, an opera by Gian-Carlo Menotti
• Medium (TV series), a television series about a research medium for a district attorney's office

Print

• The Medium, an entertainment weekly at Rutgers University