Word Confusion: Media versus Mediums

Singular for the noun: medium

Alternative plural for the noun: mediae ²

Plural for the noun:

• media (see the left column)
• mediums (fortune tellers and some plural nouns)
• mediae ²

Noun:
[Usually, the media; treated as singular or plural noun] The main means of mass communication (broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet), and are regarded collectively ¹

• [Becoming accepted is medias] Referring to different forms of media

[Anatomy] An intermediate layer, especially in the wall of a blood vessel ²

One of the main veins in the wing of an insect

[Phonetics] A voiced unaspirated stop

• [In Greek] A voiced stop

• Average
• [Of cooked meat] Halfway between rare and well-done

Noun:
An agency or means of doing something ¹

• A means by which something is communicated or expressed

The intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed to the senses or a force acts on objects at a distance

• The substance in which an organism lives or is cultured

A particular form of storage for digitized information, such as magnetic tape or discs

A liquid, e.g., oil or water, with which pigments are mixed to make paint

• The material or form used by an artist, composer, or writer

A person claiming to be in contact with the spirits of the dead and to communicate between the dead and the living

The middle quality or state between two extremes

• A reasonable balance

It’s all media hype.

I believe a media analysis is necessary.

Noun:
Their demands were publicized by the media.

The campaign won media attention.

There were great efforts made by the medias of the involved countries.

Some 600 works in all genres and medias were submitted for review.

As a safety precaution, we’re moving or copying backed-up data through a hierarchy of different media.

“The tunica media of the artery is the middle layer of cells and contains an extra layer of smooth muscle that allows for increasing or decreasing the size of the artery” (Taylor).

The media is the “fourth longitudinal vein; one to four branches reach the wing margin” (NC State University).

The suspect had medium-length hair, brown and brown.

I wanted my burger to be medium.

Noun:
The company is using the latest technology as a medium for job creation.

Their primitive valuables acted as a medium of exchange.

Here the Welsh language is the medium of instruction.

Radio communication needs no physical medium between the two stations.

The medium between the cylinders is a vacuum.

It is essential to grow bacteria in a nutrient-rich medium.

I prefer fiber as a medium for my art.

Oil paint is the most popular medium for glazing.

Madge has been consulting with different mediums, trying to contact her husband.

You have to strike a happy medium between looking like royalty and looking like a housewife.

These are all mediums, and I need a large.

1. From the Latin plural for medium. Late 19th century shortening of the modern Latin tunica media or membrana media meaning middle sheath or layer.
2. The Latin feminine of medius meaning middle and dates from the mid-19th century.

1. Late 16th century originally denoting something intermediate in nature or degree. It’s from the Latin literally meaning middle and is a neuter of medius.
2. 1835–45, from the Latin, noun use of the feminine singular of the Latin medius meaning central.