Word part · Anglo-Saxon prefix
Prefix mid- words: meaning and 17 examples
In short
The Anglo-Saxon prefix mid- (from Old English) means "middle". Words with it include midnight, midday, midstream, midway, midweek and midair. Mid- names the middle point of a time or place: midnight, midfield.
- Part
- mid-
- Meaning
- middle
- Origin
- Anglo-Saxon
- Words listed
- 17
Mid- names the middle point of a time or place: midnight, midfield. It joins whole words with no changes.
Words with the Anglo-Saxon prefix mid-
The list runs from shorter, common words to longer ones. The bands are a rough guide built from syllable count and how common each word is in our word list, not a grade-level standard. Read each word, then its word sum.
Colors:prefixroot or basesuffix
Start here: short, common words (about grades 3 and 4)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| midnight | mid (prefix)+night (root or base)→midnight | the middle of the night, 12 o'clock |
| midday | mid (prefix)+day (root or base)→midday | the middle of the day |
Next: longer words (about grades 5 and 6)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| midway | mid (prefix)+way (root or base)→midway | halfway along the way |
| midweek | mid (prefix)+week (root or base)→midweek | the middle of the week |
| midair | mid (prefix)+air (root or base)→midair | up in the air, off the ground |
| midsummer | mid (prefix)+summer (root or base)→midsummer | the middle of summer |
| midwinter | mid (prefix)+winter (root or base)→midwinter | the middle of winter |
| midterm | mid (prefix)+term (root or base)→midterm | a test in the middle of a school term |
| midpoint | mid (prefix)+point (root or base)→midpoint | the point halfway between two ends |
| midfield | mid (prefix)+field (root or base)→midfield | the middle part of a playing field |
| midfielder | mid (prefix)+field (root or base)+er (suffix)→midfielder | a player who covers the middle of the field |
More words: midline, midyear, midlife, midtown, midsection
Stretch: long or less common words (about grades 7 and 8)
| Word | Word sum | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| midstream | mid (prefix)+stream (root or base)→midstream | the middle of a stream |
How do you teach the prefix mid-?
Mid- means middle and is one of the first prefixes to give a student who is new to word parts. The bases are tiny words they read already: night, day, way, air. Midnight is the middle of the night. Midair is somewhere in the middle of the air, off the ground. There are no spelling changes, so success comes fast and confidence follows.
A quick routine
Draw a line with a dot in the center. Say, "Mid means middle. The dot is the midpoint." Show cards with night, week, summer and field. The student adds mid, reads the word and says where the middle is: "Midweek is the middle of the week, about Wednesday." Then dictate midnight and midfielder for spelling.
What do students mix up with mid-?
Middle comes from the same old word, so it belongs to the family, but it is not mid plus a base. Midst is similar. Mid also shows up by chance in words like humid, timid and pyramid, where it is the end of the word, not a prefix at the front. Point out that mid- is always first.
For the sounds inside these words, see the phonics word lists. Routines that fit: meanings of prefixes and suffixes, circle the parts, read the base and flexible routine for big words.
Questions people ask
What does the prefix mid- mean?
Mid- means "middle". It is a Anglo-Saxon prefix. Mid- names the middle point of a time or place: midnight, midfield. It joins whole words with no changes.
What are some words with the prefix mid-?
Start with midnight and midday. Then move to midway, midweek and midstream. This page lists 17 words in all, most with a word sum that shows the parts.
Is it midnight or mid-night?
Midnight is one word. Most common mid- words are written closed up (midday, midway, midair). A few newer or less common ones use a hyphen, so check a dictionary when a student writes an unusual one.
Related word parts
- semi-half, or partly
- fore-before, or at the front
- over-too much, or above
- inter-between, or among
- -era person or thing that does something
Terms on this page: morpheme, root, prefix, suffix, base word, word sum, morphology.
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