| 释义 |
me·di·um
I. \ˈmēdēəm\ noun
(plural mediums \-dēəmz\ ; or me·dia \-dēə\)
Etymology: Latin, from neuter of medius middle — more at mid
1. : something lying in a middle or intermediate position: as
a. : a middle way : compromise
< try for the happy medium >
b. archaic : a mathematical mean
c. : the average, usual, or common condition or amount
< will be leveled off to a peacetime medium somewhere between its present employment of 7000 and its pre-Korean War level of 2500 — Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News >
2. archaic : the middle term of a syllogism
3. : something through or by which something is accomplished, conveyed, or carried on: as
a. : a substance (as air or ether) regarded as the means of transmission of a force or effect
< air is the medium that conveys sound >
b. : a condition, atmosphere, or environment in which something may function or flourish
< a more finely perfected medium in which … feelings are at liberty — T.S.Eliot >
c. : an intermediate or direct instrumentality or means
< affirmed that the historic church was the medium of a continuous revelation — Stringfellow Barr >
< cattlemen seeking a medium to combat horse thieves — R.A.Billington >
especially : a channel, method, or system of communication, information, or entertainment
< a book needs the widest possible discussion in the reviewing media of the country — whether magazine, newspaper, radio, television, or public platform — Saturday Review >
d. media plural but sometimes singular in construction : a vehicle (as a radio or television program or a newspaper) used to carry advertising
4.
a. : a proper setting or natural environment
< factors involved that make this slightly contaminated water better for young goldfish than a clean medium — W.C.Allee >
b. : an appropriate occupation or means of expression : an activity or field in which one is at home : métier
< the work of extraction and arrangement was the true medium of the monastic scholars — R.W.Southern >
5. : a person through whom a purpose is accomplished : go-between, agent, intermediary
< the medium of introduction was no doubt … the publisher — Richard Garnett †1906 >
6. : medium of exchange
7. plural mediums : an individual through whom other persons seek to communicate with the spirits of the dead and who is held by such persons to be a channel of communication between the earthly world of the living and a nontemporal spiritual realm of the departed — compare automatist 2b, spiritualism
8. plural media
a. : any nutrient system for the artificial cultivation of bacteria or other organisms or cells that is sometimes a simple substance but more commonly a complex of inorganic and organic materials in a fluid base or one rendered more or less solid by coagulation or by the addition of gelatin or agar — called also nutrient medium
b. : any of many fluids or solids in which organic structures are placed (as for preservation or mounting)
9.
a. : the material or technical means for artistic expression (as paint and canvas, lithographic or sculptural stone, or literary or musical form)
< one can't have imagination until one has a medium by which it can be expressed — J.D.Cook >
< as his literary medium he has chosen a biographical form which I have ventured to describe elsewhere as that of the walkie-talkie — Ernest Newman >
b. : a liquid (as oil or water) with which pigment is mixed by a painter
10. : a size of paper usually 23×18 in. or 22×17 1/2 in.
11. : a varnish spread upon the surface or back of a photographic negative before retouching or upon the surface of a print before oil coloring
12. : a color filter used in theatrical stage lighting
13. : a material (as paper, cloth, or activated carbon) on which solids are deposited in chemical filtration
Synonyms: see mean
II. adjective
: intermediate in amount, quality, position, or degree : average, mean
< taxation reform helpful to the low and medium income groups followed — Collier's Year Book >
< a man of medium height >
< bake in a medium oven >
< the only car in the medium field — advt >
III. noun
1. : the tenuous material (as gas and dust) in space that exists outside large agglomerations of matter (as stars)
< interstellar medium >
2. : something (as a magnetic disk) on which information may be stored |