median

See also: Median, médian, medían, and medián

English

Finding the median in sets of data with an odd and even number of values.

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French median, from Latin mediānus (“of or pertaining to the middle”, adjective), from medius (“middle”) (see medium), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”). Doublet of mean and mizzen. Cognate with Old English midde, middel (“middle”). More at middle.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmiː.dɪən/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.di.ən/
• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˈmiː.dɪən/, [ˈmɪi.di.ən]

Noun

median (plural medians)

2. (anatomy, now rare) A central vein or nerve, especially the median vein or median nerve running through the forearm and arm. [from 15th c.]
   • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 3, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:

     Why is not our jugular or throat-veine as much at our command as the mediane [translating mediane]?

   • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 5, member 2:

     The Greeks prescribe the median or middle vein to be opened, and so much blood to be taken away as the patient may well spare, and the cut that is made must be wide enough.

4. (geometry) A line segment joining the vertex of triangle to the midpoint of the opposing side.
6. (statistics) A number separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, population, or probability distribution. The median of a finite list of numbers can be found by arranging all the observations from lowest value to highest value and picking the middle one (e.g., the median of {3, 3, 5, 9, 11} is 5). If there is an even number of observations, then there is no single middle value; the median is then usually defined to be the mean of the two middle values. [from 19th c.]

   Coordinate terms: medial, mean, average

8. (US) The area separating two lanes of opposite-direction traffic; the median strip. [from 20th c.]
   • 2019, Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys, Fleet, page 134:

     Seen from street level, the median was clean most days. From the third floor you peered over the benches and trees and saw the trash crowding the subway ventilation grates and paving stones.

Synonyms

• (median strip): central reservation

Hypernyms

• quantile

Coordinate terms

• (statistics): median (2-quantile), tercile/tertile (3), quartile (4), quintile (5), sextile (6), septile (7), octile (8), decile (10), hexadecile (16), ventile/vigintile (20), centile/percentile (100), millile (1000)

Related terms

• mean
• medial
• mediate
• mediation
• mediator
• medium
• mediocre
• mediocrity
• mesial (see explanation of overlap)

Translations

central vein or nerve

• Finnish: keskihermo (median nerve)
• Portuguese: mediano (pt) m

geometry: line segment joining vertex and midpoint of opposing side

• Bulgarian: медиана f (mediana)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 中線／中线 (zh) (zhōngxiàn)

• Danish: median c
• Esperanto: mediano
• Finnish: keskijana, mediaani (fi)
• French: médiane (fr) f
• German: Seitenhalbierende (de) f
• Hebrew: תִּיכוֹן (he) m (tichón)
• Hungarian: súlyvonal (hu)
• Irish: meánlíne f
• Korean: 중선(中線) (jungseon)
• Romanian: mediană (ro) f
• Russian: медиа́на (ru) f (mediána)
• Vietnamese: trung tuyến (vi)

statistics: measure of central tendency

• Arabic: وَسِيط (wasīṭ)
• Belarusian: медыя́на f (mjedyjána)
• Bulgarian: медиа́на f (mediána)
• Catalan: mediana (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 中位數／中位数 (zung¹ wai^6-2 sou³)

  Mandarin: 中位數／中位数 (zh) (zhōngwèishù)

• Czech: medián m
• Dutch: mediaan (nl)
• Esperanto: mediano
• Finnish: mediaani (fi)
• French: médiane (fr) f
• German: Median (de) m
• Greek: διάμεσος (el) f (diámesos)
• Hebrew: חֶצְיוֹן (he) m (ẖetzyón)
• Hungarian: please add this translation if you can
• Icelandic: miðgildi n, miðtala f
• Ido: mediano (io)
• Indonesian: median (id)
• Irish: airmheán m
• Italian: mediano (it) m
• Japanese: 中間数 (ちゅうかんすう, chūkansū), 中央値 (ja) (ちゅうおうち, chūōchi), 中位数 (ちゅういすう, chūisū)
• Korean: 중간(中間)값 (junggan'gap), 중위수(中位數) (jung'wisu), 중앙(中央)값 (jung'anggap)
• Maori: toharite
• Polish: mediana (pl) f
• Portuguese: mediana (pt) f
• Romanian: mediană (ro) f
• Russian: медиа́на (ru) f (mediána)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: medìjān (sh) m

• Spanish: mediana (es) f
• Swedish: median (sv) c
• Tagalog: gitnaan
• Ukrainian: медіа́на f (mediána)
• Welsh: canolrif (cy) m

area separating two lanes of opposite-direction traffic — see median strip

Adjective

median (not comparable)

2. (anatomy) Situated in a middle, central, or intermediate part, section, or range of (something). [from 16th c.]

   Coordinate terms: medial, mesial

3. (anatomy, botany) In the middle of an organ, structure etc.; towards the median plane of an organ or limb. [from 16th c.]
   • 1957, Sidney Frederic Harmer, The Polyzoa of the Siboga Expedition, page 1106:

     Cellariiform, the orifices nearly confined to the convex frontal and lateral surfaces; the basal surface with a strong median calcareous keel, almost concealed by a flat membranous epitheca, which covers the whole zoarium […]

4. (statistics) Having the median as its value. [from 19th c.]

Derived terms

• anterior median fissure
• median age
• median egret
• median eminence
• median lethal time
• median line
• median plane
• median strip

 

Translations

situated in the middle

• Bulgarian: среден (bg) (sreden)
• Finnish: keskeinen (fi), keski- (fi)
• Portuguese: mediano (pt), central (pt)
• Spanish: mediano (es)

having the median as its value

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 中位 (zh) (zhōngwèi)

• Czech: mediánový
• Dutch: mediaan (nl)
• Finnish: mediaani- (fi)
• French: médian (fr) m, médiane (fr) f
• German: mittler (de)
• Greek: μεσαίος (el) (mesaíos)
• Russian: медиа́нный (ru) (mediánnyj)
• Spanish: mediano (es)
• Ukrainian: медіа́нний (mediánnyj)

See also

• average
• mean
• mode

Anagrams

• Damien, Eidman, Maiden, Manide, Medina, Midean, aidmen, demain, maenid, maiden, mained, medina, meidan

Esperanto

Adjective

median

1. accusative singular of media

Finnish

Noun

median

1. genitive singular of media

Anagrams

• maiden

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch mediaan, from Latin medianus (“of or pertaining to the middle”, adjective), from medius (“middle”) (see medium), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos (“middle”). Doublet of madya.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [meˈdian]
• Hyphenation: mé‧di‧an

Noun

median or médian

1. median,
   1. (statistics) the number separating the higher half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution, from the lower half.
   2. (geometry) a line segment joining the vertex of triangle to the midpoint of the opposing side.
   3. (road transport) the median strip; the area separating two lanes of opposite-direction traffic.
2. medium, anything having a measurement intermediate between extremes, such as a garment or container.

   Synonym: sedang

3. (printing, dated) pica: 12-point type
4. (printing, dated) mediaan, a former Nederland paper size, 470 mm × 560 mm.

Related terms

• madya

 

Further reading

• “median” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French médian, from Latin medianus.

Adjective

median m or n (feminine singular mediană, masculine plural medieni, feminine and neuter plural mediene)

1. median

Declension

Declension of median

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	median		mediană	medieni	mediene
	definite	medianul		mediana	medienii	medienele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	median		mediene	medieni	mediene
	definite	medianului		medienei	medienilor	medienelor

Spanish

Verb

median

1. third-person plural present indicative of mediar

Swedish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin medianus; compare English median.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɑːn

Noun

median c

1. median value

Declension

Declension of median
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	median	medianen	medianer	medianerna
Genitive	medians	medianens	medianers	medianernas

Related terms

• medianvärde