me|di|an

me|di|an «MEE dee uhn», adjective, noun.

–adj.

1. of or in the middle; middle: »

the median vein of a leaf.

2. having to do with or designating the plane that divides something into two equal parts, especially one dividing a symmetrical animal into right and left halves.

3. of a median; having as many above as below a certain number: »

The median age of the population was found to be 21 (that is, there were as many persons above 21 as below it), while the average age was found to be 25.

–n.

1. the middle number of a series. If the sequence has an even number of values, the median is the average of the two middle values. Examples: the median of 1, 3, 4, 8, 9 is 4. The median of 1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10 is 6.

2. a) a line from a vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side. b) the line joining the midpoints of the nonparallel sides of a trapezoid. Abbr: med.

3. = median strip. (Cf. ↑median strip)Abbr: med.

╂[< Latin mediānus of the middle < medius middle. See etym. of doublet mean³. (Cf. ↑mean)]

–me´di|an|ly, adverb.

Me|di|an «MEE dee uhn», adjective, noun.

–adj.

of Media or the Medes.

–n.

= Mede. (Cf. ↑Mede)