Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definitions: Median |
MedianAdjective1. (statistics) relating to or constituting the middle value of an ordered set of values (or the average of the middle two in an even-numbered set); "the median value of 17, 20, and 36 is 20"; "the median income for the year was $15,000". 2. Dividing an animal into right and left halves. 3. Relating to or situated in or extending toward the middle. Noun1. The value below which 50% of the cases fall. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "median" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references) |
| Domain | Definitions |
Aerospace | The middle term of a series, or the interpolated value of the two middle terms if the number of terms is even. Compare mean. (references) |
Building & Civil Engineering | The portion of a divided highway or other transport route which separates the opposing flows of traffic. Source: European Union. (references) |
| An area separating the carriageways of a dual-carriageway road. Source: European Union. (references) | |
Census | This measure represents the middle value (if n is odd) or the average of the two middle values (if n is even) in an ordered list of data values. The median divides the total frequency distribution into two equal parts: one-half of the cases fall below the median and one-half of the cases exceed the median. Related term: Derived measures. (references) |
| The middle value in a set of numbers. (references) | |
Math | The value which has an equal number of values greater and less than it. For an even number of values, it is the mean of the two middle values. (references) |
Mathematics | The median is that value of the variate which divides the total frequency into two halves. Source: European Union. (references) |
Meteorology & Standards | The middle value or midpoint between two middle values in a set of data arranged in order of increasing or decreasing magnitude. Source: European Union. (references) |
Statistics | A) for a continuous variate it is the value of the variate at the 50% point of the comulative frequency distribution b) for a discrete variate it is that value of the variate which divides the distribution, so that at least half of the values are equal to it or less and at least half of the values are equal to it or greater. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Median gives a technical definition of middle is a number of senses.
In statistics, the median is that value that separates the highest half of the sample from the lowest half. To find the median, arrange all the observations from lowest value to highest value and pick the middle one. If there are an even number of observations, take the mean of the two middle values. When we use the median to describe what the observations have in common, there are several choices for a measure of variability, the range, the interquartile range, and the absolute deviation. Since the median is the same as the second quartile, its calculation is illustrated in the article on quartiles.
The median is primarily used for skewed distributions, which it represents more accurately than the arithmetic mean. Consider the set {1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 9}. The median is 2 in this case, as is the mode, and it might be seen as a better indication of central tendency than the arithmetic mean of 3.166....
The median is also the central point which which minimises the average of the absolute deviations; in the example above this would be (1+0+0+0+1+7)/6=1.5 using the median, while it would be 1.944... using the mean.
Even though sorting n items takes in general O(n log n) operations, by using a recursive "Divide-and-Conquer" algorithm the median of n items can be computed with only O(n) operations.
Calculation of medians is a popular technique in summary statistics and summarizing statistical data, since it is simple to understand and easy to calculate, while also giving a measure that is more robust in the presence of outlier values than is the mean. The difference between the median and the mean is less than or equal to one standard deviation.
The median is also the central point which which minimises the sum of the absolute average deviations.
Median in Statistics
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Median."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
MEDIAN | English | Wireless Broadband CPN/LAN for Professional and Residential Multimedia Applications | Computing |
| MEPbC | English | Median erythrocyte Pb(plumbum)concentration | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
Synonyms: MedianSynonyms: average (adj), medial (adj), median(a) (adj), median value (n). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Mean | Noun: mean, average; median, mode; balance, medium, mediocrity, generality; golden mean; (mid-course); middle; compromise; middle course, middle state; neutrality. |
Middle | Adjective: middle, medial, mesial, mean, mid, median, average; middlemost, midmost; mediate; intermediate; (interjacent); equidistant; central; mediterranean, equatorial; homocentric. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | If some of the tufts on the median ventral brush are attached to the saddle, which encircles the tenth abdominal segment completely, the genus is identified as Psoraphora.Credit: CDC. |  | The important identifying characteristics of a Wyeomyia mosquito larva are that it lacks the median ventral brush and it has comb scales.Credit: CDC. |
 | The eighth terminal segment of the Orthopodomyia larva possesses comb scales, and differs from the Wyeomyia by its closely set tufts of hairs on the ventral side of the tenth abdominal segment, forming the median ventral brush.Credit: CDC. |  | Wyeomyia larvae have comb scales like the Orthopodomyia larvae, but the median ventral brush is lacking. Members of this genus breed in water held by the leaves of plants.Credit: CDC. |
 | The first map demonstrating the continuity of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge median rift valley as published in: "The Floors of the Oceans. I. The North Atlantic," by Bruce C. Heezen, Marie Tharp, and Maurice Ewing. 1959. Plate 20. NOAA Central Library Call No. G83. H43 1959. Vol. 1.Credit: Sailing for Science - the NOAA Fleet Then and Now. | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Author | Date | Quotation |
Treaty of Versailles | 1919 | Peterkau; then the boundary of Pomerania in an easterly direction to its junction with the boundary between the Kreise of Konitz and Schlochau; thence northwards the boundary between Pomerania and West Prussia to the point on the river Rheda about 3 kilometres northwest of Gohra where that river is joined by a tributary from the north-west; thence to a point to be selected in the bend of the Piasnitz river about 1 1/2 kilometres north-west of Warschkau: a line to be fixed on the ground; thence this river downstream, then the median line of Lake Zarnowitz, then the old boundary of West Prussia to the Baltic Sea. (reference) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Median followup is 3 years. (references) | |
The data are mature at a median followup of 7 years. (references) | ||
The median age for the diagnosis of breast cancer is between the ages of 60 and 65 years. (references) | ||
Business | The United Kingdom and France rank second with a median share of ten percent. (references) | |
The total population in the PA equals about 2,900,000 and the median age is less than 40. The population growth rate is 3.9 percent. (references) | ||
Already, the demand for certain medications like painkillers and antibiotics is growing rapidly while the demand for geriatric drugs is slowly rising as the median age of the Palestinian population increases. (references) | ||
Children | Mexico | Children under the age of 15 make up 34 percent of the population, and the median age of the population is 21. The Government maintains several programs to promote child welfare that support maternal and infant health, provide stipends for educating poor children, subsidize food, and provide social workers; however, problems in children's health and education remain. (references) |
Economic History | Russia | Only 8, of Russia's 89 regions, have income levels higher than the national median. (references) |
Brazil | Real earnings fell for most workers for the third consecutive year in 2000. The median income is approximately R$740 (US$315) per month, but one in five Brazilians earns the minimum monthly wage or less, which was raised in April 2001 from R$151 to R$180. Because Brazil has among the most unequal distributions of incomes in the world, these macro figures mask significant variations in the distribution of income. (references) | |
Political Economy | IRELAND | The higher rate kicks in at slightly below the median industrial wage (about 23,000 dollars). (references) |
Women | Czech Republic | Women's median wages lag behind those of men by roughly 20 percent, although the gap is narrowing. (references) |
Brazil | A May 2000 study by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IGBE) indicated that in the country's six largest metropolitan areas, the median income for women was 67 percent that for men. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Moldova | The officially reported median salary for the first 11 months was $39 per month (433 Moldovan lei) in the public sector and $57 (738 Moldovan lei) in the private sector. (references) |
Switzerland | However, the Swiss Association of Trade Unions in a 1999 study found that 60,000 full-time workers (or 3.4 percent) fall below the poverty line, which is defined as earnings of less than approximately $15,500 (22,900 Swiss francs)--or half of the median wage. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Median" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 73.74% of the time. "Median" is used about 711 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 73.74% | 524 | 11,646 |
| Noun (singular) | 26.26% | 187 | 22,491 |
| Total | 100.00% | 711 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "median" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Median | Last name | 130 | 61,934 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "median": median age ♦ Median Eminence ♦ median fins ♦ median incapacitating dose ♦ median lacing of a trouser codend ♦ median lethal concentration ♦ median lethal dose ♦ median lethal dosis ♦ median lethal time ♦ median line ♦ median nerve ♦ Median Neuropathy ♦ median of distribution ♦ median plane ♦ median point ♦ median remaining lifetime ♦ median residual lifetime ♦ median survival time ♦ median test ♦ median unbiasedness ♦ median unbiassedness ♦ median value ♦ on a median axis ♦ Unpaired or Median. Additional references. | |
| Hyphenated Usage | |
Beginning with "median": median-interquartile, median-to-high. | |
Ending with "median": three-median. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "median"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Albanian | mesatare (average, mean, medium, par), i mesit (lumbar, medial, mid, middle, middlemost), e mesme. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | متوسط (age, average, central, intermediary, intermediate, mean, medial, mediocre, medium, middle, middling, moderate, ordinary, pass, poorly), وسطي (medial), المستقيم المتوسط, العدد الأوسط. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | средна артерия, среден (average, indifferent, intermediary, intermediate, mean, medial, medium, mesial, mid, middle, middlemost, middle-of-the-road, middling, moderate, neutral, run of the mill), междинен (intercurrent, intermediary, intermediate, medial, mediate, medium, osculant, transitional), медиана (mean). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 中间 (Amid, Amidst, intermediate, intermediately, medial, medially, mediate, mid, middle, mid-off, midst). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | medián, středový, prùmìrná přímka, prùmìrná hodnota. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | midterrabat (central reserve, separation of traffic flows in opposite directions), medianværdi, median for fordeling (median of distribution), median (median of distribution). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | mediaan (median of distribution). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farsi | میانی (Centric, Inmost, Innermost, Meddle, Medial, Mid), میانه (Average, Intermediate, Medial, Normal, Tolerable), میانگین (Average, Mean), وسطی (Centric, Mean, Meddle, Medial, Mid), حدفاصل (Partition). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | mediaani, keskusarvo, keskisarka, keskikaista, jakauman mediaani (median of distribution). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | médiane (median of distribution). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Medianwert, Median (medial, median of distribution). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | κεντρική τιμή κατανομής (median of distribution), κεντρική διαχωριστική νησίδα (central reserve), μέσοσ (average, mean, medial, medium, mesne, mezzo, mid, middle), μεσαία διαχωριστική ζώνη (central reserve), διάμεσοσ (intermediate, interstitial), διάμεσος (interstitial), διαχωριστική γραμμή λεωφόρου. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | תיכון (central, halfway, intermediate, mean, middle), קו תכון, אמצעי (aid, expedient, facility, implement, indirectly, mean, means, measure, medium, mid, middle, organ, resort, resource, resources, step, steppingstone, tool), חציון. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | közép- (central, mean, middle), súlyvonal, oldalfelező, mediáns, medián, központi sávelosztó (central reservation), közbülső (betwixt and between, centre, medial, middle), középső (middle, reservation), felező érték. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | mediano (halfback, halfway, medial). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 中位数 , 中央分離帯 (divider). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | ちゅうおうぶんりたい (divider), ちゅういすう. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean | 메디아. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | edianmay mediana. (various references) medianã, median (medial), medial (medial), nerv median, de mijloc (mean, medial, middle, Midland), arterã medianã. (various references) медиана. (various references) vrednost srednjeg člana, težišna linija, srednji (central, intermediate, medial, medium, mid, middle, neuter), srednja linija. (various references) mediana (reservation). (various references) median (median of distribution). (various references) ซึ่งอยู่ตรงกลาง (medial), จุดกึ่งกลาง (middle). (various references) medyan, orta değer, orta (bosom, c, center, central, centre, fair, in between, intermediary, intermediate, mean, medial, mediate, mediocre, medium, mesial, mesne, meso-, mezzo-, mid, mid-, middle, middling, midst, moderate, passable, secondary), kenarortay. (various references) середній (average, mean, medial, medium, mesial, mid, middle, middle-of-the-road, middling, moderate, neutral, normal, secondary), серединне значення, серединна артерія, серединний (mesial, mid), медіана. (various references) qua điểm giữa, ở giữa (central, intermediate, mesne, middle). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | medianus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Daniel Chapter 6, Verse 1 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Kai artaxerxhV o twn mhdwn parelabe thn basileian kai dareioV plhrhV twn hmerwn kai endoxoV en ghrei |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Placuit Dario et constituit supra regnum satrapas centum viginti ut essent in toto regno suo |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | It pleside to Darius, and he ordeynyde on the rewme satraps an hundrid and twenti, that thei weren in al his rewme; and on hem three princis, |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | \5:31\And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about sixty and two years old. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | And Darius the Mede took the kingdom, being then about sixty-two years old. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Daniel Chapter 6, Verse 1 |
| Cebuano | ¶ Nahimut-an ni Dario ang pagbutang ibabaw sa gingharian usa ka gatus ug kaluhaan ka mga principe, nga maoy magapangulo sa tibook gingharian; |
| Croatian | A Darije Medijac preuze kraljevstvo, star veæ šezdeset i dvije godine. |
| Danish | og Mederen Darius overtog Riget i en Alder af to og tresindstyve År. |
| Finnish | Daarejaves näki hyväksi asettaa valtakuntaansa sata kaksikymmentä satraappia, että heitä olisi kaikkialla valtakunnassa. |
| French | Darius trouva bon d`établir sur le royaume cent vingt satrapes, qui devaient être dans tout le royaume. |
| German | Und Darius sah es für gut an, daß er über das ganze Königreich setzte hundertzwanzig Landvögte. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Sebermula, maka kemudian dari pada itu adalah Darius, orang Medi, naik raja, pada masa umurnya kira-kira enam puluh dua tahun. |
| Italian | Volle Dario costituire nel suo regno centoventi sàtrapi e ripartirli per tutte le province. |
| Maori | ¶ I pai a Tariuha kia whakaritea etahi ariki kotahi rau e rua tekau mo te kingitanga, hei kawana mo te kingitanga katoa; |
| Norwegian | Og mederen Darius mottok riket; han var da to og seksti år gammel. |
| Portuguese | Pareceu bem a Dario constituir sobre o reino cento e vinte sátrapas, que estivessem por todo o reino; |
| Rumanian | Dariu a gqsit cu cale sq punq peste kmpqrqyie o sutq douq zeci de dregqtori, cari trebuiau sq fie rqspkndiyi kn toatq kmpqrqyia; |
| Russian | хЗПДОП ВЩМП дБТЙА РПУФБЧЙФШ ОБД ГБТУФЧПН УФП ДЧБДГБФШ УБФТБРПЧ, ЮФПВЩ ПОЙ ВЩМЙ ЧП ЧУЕН ГБТУФЧЕ, |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "median": medianly, medians, mediant, mediants. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "median": comedian. (additional references) | |
Words containing "median": comedians, submediant, submediants. (additional references) | |
| |
"Median" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: amedian, edain, edian, gediman, Keidon, Macian, madain, madin, madina, Madinah, madiran, Madiun, madtan, maedan, magian, maidan, Maidana, mardian, mdeia, meadean, meadian, medai, Medan, medea, medeia, Meden, Medesano, medfac, Medha, mediam, Mediana, medican, medida, Medie, Medien, medii, medimnoi, medin, Medinah, medio, Medoune, medua, Mehigan, meia, meien, meina, Mejdani, Meldina, melian, melina, merdia, Merian, meriana, metaxa, metia, Meziane, Mhedrioni, Midan, Middiman, midian, midin, mirian, mithian, Mityana, Modin, Mondriaan. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "median" (pronounced mē"dēun) |
| 6 | m ē" d ē u n | comedian. |
| 4 | -d ē u n | accordion, arcadian, circadian, collodion, custodian, Guardian, meridian, nickelodeon, obsidian, Odeon. |
| 3 | -ē u n | agrarian, alien, amphibian, authoritarian, barbarian, bohemian, Campion, carrion, centenarian, centurion, chameleon, champion, Clarion, contrarian, criterion, Cyprian, disciplinarian, draconian, egalitarian, equestrian, galleon, gorgonian, halcyon, herculean, historian, humanitarian, hyperborean, lesbian, libertarian, librarian, majoritarian, mammalian, mediterranean, Napoleon, nonsectarian, oblivion, octogenarian, ovarian, pagurian, parliamentarian, pedestrian, planarian, plutonian, praetorian, presbyterian, proletarian, salutatorian, scorpion, sectarian, seminarian, septuagenarian, simian, subterranean, symbion, theologian, thespian, totalitarian, unitarian, utilitarian, utopian, valedictorian, valerian, vegetarian, veterinarian. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: aidmen, daimen, maiden, medina. | |
| Words within the letters "a-d-e-i-m-n" | |
-1 letter: admen, aimed, amend, amide, amine, anime, denim, maned, media, menad, minae, mined, named. | |
-2 letters: aide, amen, amid, amie, amin, dame, damn, dean, deni, dime, dine, idea, idem, made, maid, main, mane, mead, mean, mend, mien, mina, mind, mine, name, nema, nide. | |
-3 letters: aid, aim, ain, ami, and, ane, ani, dam, den, die, dim. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-d-e-i-m-n" | |
+1 letter: amidine, amidone, diamine, inarmed, maidens, medians, mediant, medinas, sideman, unaimed. | |
+2 letters: adeeming, amandine, amending, amidines, amidogen, amidones, animated, comedian, daemonic, daimones, dairymen, defaming, dementia, demoniac, demonian, diamante, diamines, dominate, dopamine, dreaming, dynamite, endemial, examined, imagined, impawned, indamine, inflamed, landmine, machined, maenadic, maidenly, maligned, mandible, margined, marinade, maundies, medaling, medianly, mediants, melanoid, meridian, midrange, misnamed, muraenid, pandemic, radiomen, remained, zemindar. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)4D 65 64 69 61 6E |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-- . -.. .. .- -. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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| Amazon.com BOOKS: Search for: "median" |
