midden

noun mid·den \ ˈmi-dᵊn \

|Updated on: 25 Jul 2018

Definition of midden

1 : dunghill

2 a : a refuse heap; especially : kitchen midden

b : a small pile (as of seeds, bones, or leaves) gathered by a rodent (such as a pack rat)

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Recent Examples of midden from the Web

The rodents create huge piles of food called middens that can keep them going for several seasons—and are sometimes also discovered by future generations of squirrels.

— brian gordon green, National Geographic, "Why a Squirrel Stashed 50 Pounds of Pine Cones in a Car," 9 June 2018
This sort of caching is common among squirrels, and the animals have been known to stockpile all sorts of interesting things in their middens, or store-rooms.

— jessica haines, National Geographic, "These Adorable Squirrels Are Also Baby-Killing Cannibals," 16 Mar. 2018
This untouched wilderness has miles of trails that wind through spruce and fir trees, past Native American shell middens and tide pools.

— mona gable, Vogue, "The Best Way to Experience the Oregon Coast," 10 Dec. 2017
Seabirds are mentioned in Norse sagas as early as the 9th century, and their bones have been found in the middens of Viking settlements.

— cheryl katz, Smithsonian, "Disappearing Puffins Bring an Icelandic Hunting Tradition Under Scrutiny," 17 Jan. 2017
From human remains more than 13,000 years old to the earliest middens and fishhooks in North America, the Channel Islands National Park off the California coast are a treasure trove of information about early North American people.

— erin blakemore, Smithsonian, "Prehistoric Native American Site Discovered Off the California Coast," 9 June 2017
In later centuries, European settlers viewed the middens as a resource.

— murray carpenter, New York Times, "Native American Secrets Lie Buried in Huge Shell Mounds," 19 Oct. 2017
Shell middens are layers of cooking remains, particularly bones, shell and grease, deposited through years of human use of a site.

— lynda v. mapes, The Seattle Times, "Land transfer brings closure to Lummi tribe 20 years after ancestors’ remains disturbed," 30 June 2017
Erosion has already washed away cemeteries and historic Native American sites, called middens, along the state's coast.

— sara sneath, NOLA.com, "Iceland's coastal erosion threatens Viking artifacts: report," 30 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'midden.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of midden

Middle English midding, from Old Norse *mykdyngja, from myki dung + dyngja manure pile — more at dung

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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