# midst

Pronunciation: say "MIDST" /mɪdst/

## Noun

1. The middle part of something, whether a real place or a situation one is surrounded by. *(literary)*
   - Simple: The middle of a place, group, or situation.
   - _Negotiations collapsed in the midst of mounting political pressure._
   - _A quiet garden sat in the midst of the busy city._

## Preposition

2. Surrounded by; in the middle of; among. *(rare)*
   - Simple: In the middle of, or surrounded by something.
   - _Midst the falling snow, the travelers pressed onward toward the pass._
   - _A single light glowed midst the darkness of the valley._

## Origin

From Middle English 'middes', 'midst', or 'myddest' ('middle'), from Old English 'midde'. It was reshaped in Middle English phrases like 'in middes' ('in the middle') by analogy with adverbs ending in -(e)s, and the -(e)st forms are probably due to the influence of superlatives.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/midst (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).