mediant

noun

me·​di·​ant ˈmē-dē-ənt How to pronounce mediant (audio)
: the third tone of a major or minor scale

Word History

Etymology

Italian mediante, from Late Latin mediant-, medians, present participle of mediare to be in the middle

First Known Use

1721, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mediant was in 1721

Rhymes for mediant

See All Rhymes for mediant

Browse Nearby Words

median strip
mediant
median vein
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Mediant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mediant. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

mediant

noun
me·​di·​ant ˈmēd-ē-ənt How to pronounce mediant (audio)
: the third tone above the tonic
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All