Medium

A medium (plural media - it is directly a Latin word meaning "the one in the middle") is a carrier of something -- in the most popular sense, of information, mostly human ideas. Depending on the actual characteristics of the medium, it serves transmission or storage of information or both.

For example:

Speech, gestures, telephone.
Stone scores, audio and video recordings, hard disks
Paper, letter mail
Mass media: recitations, newspaper, magazine, movies, broadcast media (television, radio, streaming media), Compact discs, DVDs
The Internet is a mix of mass media and personal media
In art, a medium means the material in which an artist works: paint, wood, marble, steel, etc.
In biology and chemistry, a solvent serves as a medium for molecules.

By metonymy, the industries which produce news and entertainment content for the mass media are often called "the media" (in much the same way the newspaper industry is called "the press").

Marshall McLuhan was famous for saying (among other things), "The medium is the massage."

Regional:

Medium is also the term used for an individual who claims the ability to receive messages from spirits, ghosts, or other discorporate entities, or claims that they can channel such entities (that is, speak or write with the voice of these entities rather than in their own voice). While many believe that such individuals are either self deluded or are simply charlatans, popular mediums often have many followers who believe strongly in their purported abilities. Examples of popular modern-day mediums are Sylvia Brown[?] and John Edward.

External Links

John Edward (http://www.johnedward.net/)
Sylvia Brown (http://www.sylvia.org/home/index.cfm)
James Randi Educational Foundation (skeptic's organization) (http://www.randi.org)

Medium also refers to an average or mean in a range of sizes or conditions. Usually, the term is used when there are only a few different sizes in the range, rather than many. For example, items such as drinks at a fast food restaurant might come in three sizes: Small, Medium, and Large.

A footnote: the peculiarities of the English language, and its redundant use of the same words for different things, allows English speakers to make such statements as "Small medium at large!" that are both comprehensible and mildly amusing.

See also:

Regional:

External Links