Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - middle

 I. adjective  Etymology: Middle English middel, from Old English; akin to Old English midde  Date: before 12th century  1. equally distant from the extremes ; medial, central the ~ house in the row  2. being at neither extreme ; intermediate  3. capitalized  a. constituting a division intermediate between those prior and later or upper and lower Middle Paleozoic  b. constituting a period of a language or literature intermediate between one called Old and one called New or Modern Middle Dutch  4. of a verb form or voice typically asserting that a person or thing both performs and is affected by the action represented  II. noun  Date: before 12th century  1. a ~ part, point, or position  2. the central portion of the human body ; waist  3. the position of being among or in the midst of something in the ~ of the crowd  4. something intermediate between extremes ; mean  5. the center of an offensive or defensive formation; especially the area between the second baseman and the shortstop