/mɪdst/, [mɪdst], [mɪtst]
OriginFrom Middle English middes, midst, myddest (“middle”), from Old English midde, reshaped in Middle English phrases like in middes (“in the middle”) by analogy with adverbs in -(e)s; also compare Old English on middan, tōmiddes. Forms in -(e)st are probably due to influence of superlatives.
- literary, oftenA place in the middle of something; may be used of a literal or metaphorical location.
“Miss Phyllis Morgan, as the hapless heroine dressed in the shabbiest of clothes, appears in the midst of a gay and giddy throng; she apostrophises all and sundry there, including the villain, and has ”
“At dawn, in the midst of a mist that is both literal and the unformed shifting of thought, he encounters a young fox pup playfully shaking a bone.”
“As he said in "I Have a Dream," the Negro "lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity."”
- rareAmong, in the middle of; amidst.
“Mildred comes home from work early only to discover her husband, Robert, midst of a lewd affair with their neighbor, Gladys.”
“She puts the period often from his place ; And 'midst the sentence so her accent breaks”
Formsmidsts(plural) · midest(alternative) · middest(alternative) · middis(alternative) · middst(alternative) · myddest(alternative) · mydest(alternative) · myddis(alternative) · myddst(alternative) · mydst(alternative)