Medium


A medium (plural media - it is directly a Latin word meaning "the one in the
middle", however mediums is also sometimes used) is a carrier of something
-- in the most popular sense, of information, mostly human ideas. Depending
on the actual characteristics of the medium, it serves transmission or
storage of information or both.

For example:

   * Speech, gestures, telephone.
   * Stone scores, audio and video recordings, hard disks
   * Paper, letter mail
   * Mass media: recitations, newspaper, magazine, movies, broadcast media
     (television, radio, streaming media), Compact discs, DVDs
   * The Internet is a mix of mass media and personal media
   * In art, a medium means the material in which an artist works: paint,
     wood, marble, steel, etc.
   * In biology and chemistry, a solvent serves as a medium for molecules.

By metonymy, the industries which produce news and entertainment content for
the mass media are often called "the media" (in much the same way the
newspaper industry is called "the press").

Marshall McLuhan was famous for saying (among other things), "The medium is
the message."

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Medium is also the term used for an individual who claims the ability to
receive messages from spirits, ghosts, or other discorporate entities, or
claims that they can channel such entities (that is, speak or write with the
voice of these entities rather than in their own voice). While many believe
that such individuals are either self deluded or are simply charlatans,
popular mediums often have many followers who believe strongly in their
purported abilities. Examples of popular modern-day mediums are Sylvia Brown
and John Edward.

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Medium also refers to an average or mean in a range of sizes or conditions.
Usually, the term is used when there are only a few different sizes in the
range, rather than many. For example, items such as drinks at a fast food
restaurant might come in three sizes: Small, Medium, and Large.

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A footnote: the peculiarities of the English language, and its redundant use
of the same words for different things, allows English speakers to make such
statements as "Small medium at large!" that are both comprehensible and
mildly amusing.