mediant
/ˈmiːdi.ənt/ noun
Forms mediants
- noun (music) The third degree of the diatonic scale.
- noun (mathematics) A rational number whose numerator is the sum of the numerators of two other given rational numbers and whose denominator is the sum of the denominators of those same two other rational numbers.
Etymology
From Italian mediante, from Latin mediānt- (“being in the middle”), present active participle of mediō (“to be in the middle”), from medius (“middle”), from Proto-Italic *meðios, from Proto-Indo-European *medʰyo- (“between”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The third above the keynote; --so called because it divides the interval between the tonic and dominant into two thirds.
Etymology [L. medians, p. p. of mediare to halve: cf. It. mediante, F. médiante.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mediant”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details