media

noun me·dia \ ˈmē-dē-ə \

|Updated on: 12 Jun 2018

Usage guide: Is media singular or plural?

Definition of media

plural mediae play \-dē-ˌē\

[Late Latin, from Latin, feminine of medius; from the voiced stops' being regarded as intermediate between the tenues and the aspirates]

: a voiced (see voiced 2) stop (see ²stop 1b)

[New Latin, from Latin]

: the middle coat of the wall of a blood or lymph (see lymph 2) vessel consisting chiefly of circular muscle fibers

First Known Use of media

1841

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

media

noun, often attributive

Definition of media

plural medias

1 : a medium of cultivation, conveyance, or expression

Air is a media that conveys sound.

; especially : medium 2b

2 a singular or plural in construction : mass media

b medias plural : members of the mass media

Is media singular or plural?

The singular media and its plural medias seem to have originated in the field of advertising over 70 years ago; they are still so used without stigma in that specialized field. In most other applications media is used as a plural of medium. The popularity of the word in references to the agencies of mass communication is leading to the formation of a mass noun, construed as a singular.

- there's no basis for it. You know, the news media gets on to something
- —Edwin Meese 3d
- the media is less interested in the party's policies
- —James Lewis, Guardian Weekly