media vs medium :

media or medium

There are several words with Latin or Greek roots whose plural forms ending in A are constantly mistaken for singular ones. See, for instance, and . Radio is a broadcast medium. Television is another broadcast medium. Newspapers are a print medium. Together they are media. Following the tendency of Americans to abbreviate phrases, with “transistor radio” becoming “transistor,” (now fortunately obsolete) and “videotape” becoming “,” “news media” and “communications media” have been abbreviated to “media.” Remember that watercolor on paper and oil on black velvet are also media, though they have nothing to do with the news. When you want to get a message from your late Uncle Fred, you may consult a medium. The word means a vehicle between some source of information and the recipient of it. The “media” are the transmitters of the news; they are not the news itself.

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Definitions
  medium
  • n  a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information
  • n  the surrounding environment
    fish require an aqueous medium
  • n  an intervening substance through which signals can travel as a means for communication
  • n  (bacteriology) a nutrient substance (solid or liquid) that is used to cultivate micro-organisms
  • n  a liquid with which pigment is mixed by a painter
  • n  (biology) a substance in which specimens are preserved or displayed
  • n  an intervening substance through which something is achieved
    the dissolving medium is called a solvent
  • n  a state that is intermediate between extremes; a middle position
    a happy medium
  • n  someone who serves as an intermediary between the living and the dead
    he consulted several mediums
  • n  (usually plural) transmissions that are disseminated widely to the public
  • n  an occupation for which you are especially well suited
  • s  around the middle of a scale of evaluation
    medium bombers
  • s  (meat) cooked until there is just a little pink meat inside
News & Articles
  media
  medium