mean3

 
Pronunciation: /miːn/

noun

  • 1the quotient of the sum of several quantities and their number; an average: acid output was calculated by taking the mean of all three samplesSee also arithmetic mean, geometric mean
  • 2a condition, quality, or course of action equally removed from two opposite extremes: the measure expresses a mean between saving and splashing out

adjective

[attributive]
  • 1(of a quantity) calculated as a mean; average: participants in the study had a mean age of 35 years
  • 2equally far from two extremes: hope is the mean virtue between despair and presumption

Origin:

Middle English: from Old French meien, from Latin medianus 'middle' (see median)