Amid
in the middle of; surrounded by; among:
to stand weeping amid the ruins.
during; in or throughout the course of.
variant of before a vowel:
amidase.
Contemporary Examples
amid their screams of fury, one woman could be heard shouting into a phone, “People are sick of the soap opera!”
Hosni Mubarak’s Final Tragedy Christopher Dickey February 12, 2011
In response, amid the clamor, Chelsea mouthed, “I love you.”
Father of the Bride Rebecca Dana, Lloyd Grove July 28, 2010
amid worried NYPD, paramedics, nurses, and doctors, he glowed.
Hundreds Evacuated From NYU’s Tisch Hospital in Hurricane Sandy Abby Haglage October 29, 2012
(1) Do we know who the “good guys” are in Syria amid all the bad ones?
War Is the New Peace: American Vets Reflect on Syria John Kael Weston September 9, 2013
In Rhode Island, amid HIPAA concerns, Glass is being used in ERs with dermatologists.
Google Glass Is Helping Doctors Save Lives. Maybe It’s Time to Reconsider the Poorly Received Technology. Valerie Vande Panne March 27, 2014
Historical Examples
But where was the populace, amid all this prodigious wealth?
Astounding Stories of Super-Science January 1931 Various
On a rock, amid the roaring water, Lies Cassiopea’s gentle daughter.
Philothea Lydia Maria Child
They come in on horseback, and amid enthusiastic greetings from the crowd ride into the arena.
Stars of the Opera Mabel Wagnalls
“Stand to it, Aylward,” cried the archers, amid a fresh burst of laughter.
The White Company Arthur Conan Doyle
We quickly descended the mountain, and continued our journey in a real garden, amid flowering trees and verdant rice fields.
Travels in Tartary, Thibet, and China Evariste Regis Huc
preposition
in the middle of; among
prep.
late 14c., from amidde (c.1200), from Old English on middan “in the middle,” from dative singular of midde “mid, middle” (see middle); the phrase evidently was felt as “in (the) middle” and thus followed by a genitive case, and if this had endured we would follow it today with of. (See amidst for further evolution along this line).
The same applies to equivalents in Latin (in medio) and Greek (en meso), both originally adjective phrases which evolved to take the genitive case. But in later Old English on middan also was treated as a preposition and followed by dative. Used in compounds from early 13c. (e.g. amidships, attested from 1690s and retaining the genitive, as the compounds usually did in early Middle English, suggesting this one is considerably older than the written record of it.)
Read Also:
- Amidships
in or toward the middle part of a or aircraft; midway between the ends. along the central fore-and-aft line of a or aircraft. in or toward the center of anything: a long, narrow office with a desk placed amidships. of, relating to, or located in the middle part of a or aircraft. Historical Examples He […]
- Amida
a Buddha who rules over paradise, enjoying endless and infinite bliss. a paradise believed by the followers of a Mahayana sect (Pure Land sect) to be ruled over by a Buddha (Amida) whose hope it is to bring all beings into it. Historical Examples Farzman knew full well that the Persians in Amida could not […]
- Amidah
a liturgical prayer that is recited in standing position at each of the three daily services and consists of three opening blessings, three closing blessings, and one intermediate blessing on the Sabbath and holy days and 13 intermediate blessings on other days. noun (Judaism) the central prayer in each of the daily services, recited silently […]
- Amidase
an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of an acid amide. amidase am·i·dase (ām’ĭ-dās’, -dāz’) n. An enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of monocarboxylic amides, thus freeing ammonia. Also called acylamidase, acylase.
- Amidate
to convert into an amide.