Fromamids +-t(excrescent), fromamid +-s(genitive). Bysurface analysis,amid +-st(excrescent). Rootamid fromMiddle Englishamidde,amiddes,on midden, fromOld Englishon middan(“in the middle”), frommidd(“central”) (Englishmid).
amidst
- In themidst ormiddle of;surrounded orencompassed by;among.
- Synonyms:amid,among,amongst
1912 October,Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, inThe All-Story, New York, N.Y.:Frank A. Munsey Co.,→OCLC; republished as chapter 5, inTarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.:A. L. Burt Company,1914 June,→OCLC:Not so, however, with Tarzan, the man-child. His lifeamidst the dangers of the jungle had taught him to meet emergencies with self-confidence, and his higher intelligence resulted in a quickness of mental action far beyond the powers of the apes.
As with other words with excrescent suffix-st,amidst is generally considered synonymous with simpleramid, andamid is preferred by style guides on both sides of the Atlantic.[1]
Further,amidst/amid are similar in meaning to – but distinct from –amongst/among.Amid(st) denotes that something is "in the midst of", "surrounded by" other things, and is used when the idea of separate things is not prominent.Among(st) denotes that something is mingling with other separable things ("blessed art thou among women").
Some speakers feel it is an obsolete form ofamid.Amidst is more common in British English than American English, though it is used to some degree in both.
in the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among
- Arabic:بَيْن (ar)(bayn)
- Egyptian Arabic:بين(ben)
- Armenian:մեջ (hy)(meǰ)
- Esperanto:meze de (eo),inter (eo)
- French:au milieu de (fr),entre (fr),parmi (fr)
- German:inmitten (de)
- Judeo-Italian:אֵינְפֵֿירַה(ʾenəp̄erah/enfera/)
- Irish:i lár,i measc
- Italian:in mezzo
- Polish:pośród (pl)
- Portuguese:entre (pt),nomeiode,em meio a
- Slovene:srédi
- Spanish:en medio de,en pleno m,entre (es),durante (es)
- Swedish:mitt i,under (sv)
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