MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Medium of exchange

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/mˈidiəm əv ɪkstʃˈeɪndʒ/ Listen

noun

Medium n. (pl. L. media, E. mediums)

1.

That which lies in the middle, or between other things; intervening body or quantity. Hence, specifically:

(a)

Middle place or degree; mean. "The just medium... lies between pride and abjection."

(b)

(Math.) See Mean.

(c)

(Logic) The mean or middle term of a syllogism; that by which the extremes are brought into connection.

2.

A substance through which an effect is transmitted from one thing to another; as, air is the common medium of sound. Hence: The condition upon which any event or action occurs; necessary means of motion or action; that through or by which anything is accomplished, conveyed, or carried on; specifically, In animal magnetism, spiritualism, etc., a person through whom the action of another being is said to be manifested and transmitted. "Whether any other liquors, being made mediums, cause a diversity of sound from water, it may be tried." "I must bring together All these extremes; and must remove all mediums."

3.

An average. (R.) "A medium of six years of war, and six years of peace."

4.

A trade name for printing and writing paper of certain sizes. See Paper.

5.

(Paint.) The liquid vehicle with which dry colors are ground and prepared for application.

6.

(Microbiology) A source of nutrients in which a microorganism is placed to permit its growth, cause it to produce substances, or observe its activity under defined conditions; also called culture medium or growth medium. The medium is usually a solution of nutrients in water, or a similar solution solidified with gelatin or agar.

7.

A means of transmission of news, advertising, or other messages from an information source to the public, also called a news medium, such as a newspaper or radio; used mostly in the plural form, i. e. news media or media. See 1st media (2).

Circulating medium, a current medium of exchange, whether coin, bank notes, or government notes.

Ethereal medium (Physics), the ether.

Medium of exchange, that which is used for effecting an exchange of commodities money or current representatives of money.

See images of 'Medium of exchange'

Etymology of 'Medium of exchange'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Medium of exchange" Quotes from Famous Books

... necessarily extravagant of money. They know not its value. They know, indeed, that ten mills make one cent, and that ten cents make one dime, and that ten dimes make one dollar; but they are ignorant of the practical value of these denominations of the great medium of exchange. They cannot "jew," and know not that the slight percentage they would take off the price asked is a prize worth contending for. Again, the physical exhaustion or reaction which almost invariably follows mental exertion requires ...

— The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 12, No. 74, December, 1863 • Various

... entry identifies the national medium of exchange and, in parenthesis, gives the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 4217 alphabetic currency ...

— The 2007 CIA World Factbook • United States

... bringing in small herds of cows bought with trade goods from the other tribes. These they barter with the Masai for sheep. In Masai estimation a cow is the most valuable thing on earth, while a sheep is only a medium of exchange. With such notions it is easy to see that the white man can make an advantageous exchange, in spite of the Masai's well-known shrewdness at a bargain. Each side is satisfied. There remains only to find a market for the sheep—an easy matter. A small herd of cows will, ...

— African Camp Fires • Stewart Edward White

... division of labour is well established, every man becomes in some measure a merchant, and the society becomes a commercial society; and the continual process of exchange leads inevitably to the origin of money. In the absence of money or a general medium of exchange, society would be restricted to the cumbersome method of barter. Every man therefore would early endeavour to keep by him, besides the produce of his own industry, a certain quantity of some commodity ...

— The World's Greatest Books--Volume 14--Philosophy and Economics • Various

... 1850-70, now in the Chase Bank collection, came to me personally some thirty years ago from a woman missionary, who had been located in the field where she said a cake form of condensed milk, and referred to as 'cheese,' was a medium of exchange among the natives. It, like other commodities, particularly compressed tea, was prized as a trading medium in China, in that it had value as nutriment and was sufficiently appreciated by the population as to be exchangeable ...

— The Complete Book of Cheese • Robert Carlton Brown

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