Middle-earth
(Mid"dle-earth`) n. The world, considered as lying between heaven and hell. [Obs.] Shak.
Middle-ground
(Mid"dle-ground`) n. (Paint.) That part of a picture between the foreground and the
background.
Middleman
(Mid"dle*man) n.; pl. Middlemen
1. An agent between two parties; a broker; a go-between; any dealer between the producer and the consumer; in
Ireland, one who takes land of the proprietors in large tracts, and then rents it out in small portions to
the peasantry.
2. A person of intermediate rank; a commoner.
3. (Mil.) The man who occupies a central position in a file of soldiers.
Middlemost
(Mid"dle*most`) a. [Cf. Midmost.] Being in the middle, or nearest the middle; midmost.
Middler
(Mid"dler) n. One of a middle or intermediate class in some schools and seminaries.
Middling
(Mid"dling) a. Of middle rank, state, size, or quality; about equally distant from the extremes; medium; moderate; mediocre; ordinary.
"A town of but middling size." Hallam.
Plainly furnished, as beseemed the middling circumstances of its inhabitants.
Hawthorne. — Mid"dling*ly, adv. — Mid"dling*ness, n.
Middlings
(Mid"dlings) n. pl.
1. A combination of the coarser parts of ground wheat the finest bran, separated from the fine flour and
coarse bran in bolting; — formerly regarded as valuable only for feed; but now, after separation of the
bran, used for making the best quality of flour. Middlings contain a large proportion of gluten.
2. In the southern and western parts of the United States, the portion of the hog between the ham and
the shoulder; bacon; — called also middles. Bartlett.
Middy
(Mid"dy) n.; pl. Middies A colloquial abbreviation of midshipman.
Midfeather
(Mid"feath`er) n.
1. (Steam Boilers) A vertical water space in a fire box or combustion chamber.
2. (Mining) A support for the center of a tunnel.
Midgard
(Mid"gard`) n. [Icel. miðgarðr.] (Scand. Myth.) The middle space or region between heaven
and hell; the abode of human beings; the earth.
Midge
(Midge) n. [OE. migge, AS. mycge; akin to OS. muggia, D. mug, G. mücke, OHG. mucca, Icel.
m, Sw. mygga, mygg, Dan. myg; perh. named from its buzzing; cf. Gr. to low, bellow.] (Zoöl.)
1. Any one of many small, delicate, long- legged flies of the Chironomus, and allied genera, which do
not bite. Their larvæ are usually aquatic.
2. A very small fly, abundant in many parts of the United States and Canada, noted for the irritating
quality of its bite.
The name is also applied to various other small flies. See Wheat midge, under Wheat.
