English
midst
Midst comes from Old English midde ‘the middle’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *me ‘near, by, with’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*me‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyos‘middle’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*midjaz‘middle, mid’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*midjǭ‘middle, center’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150midde‘the middle’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500middes
- Englishearliest quotation 1594midst
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*me‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyos‘middle’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*midjaz‘middle, mid’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*midjǭ‘middle, center’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150midde‘the middle’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500middes
- Englishearliest quotation 1594midst
Earliest quotation: 1594, William Shakespeare, Lucrece (First Quarto): “She puts the period often from his place ;…”
The story
Forms in -(e)st are probably due to influence of superlatives.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *me ‘near, by, with’
median, mediation, mediator, mediate, 21 more
through Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ‘middle’
mean, media, medium, medal, demi, mezzanine, moiety, medulla, meso, maidan, medio, moyen, intermezzo, 32 more
through Proto-Germanic *midjaz ‘middle, mid’
Today it means
noun A place in the middle of something; may be used of a literal or metaphorical location.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *me / midst