Midi

How to spell midi

4 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce midi

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does midi mean?

1. nounA skirt, dress, or coat of medium length, typically reaching the middle of the calf.

Midi in a sentence

• She paired a pleated midi with flat boots for the office.

• The boutique stocked the same dress in a mini and a midi length.

Where does midi come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This term grew out of the native English word 'mid', from Old English 'midd' meaning 'middle' or 'central', a word with deep Germanic roots that also gives us 'midday' and 'midnight'. In the late 1960s, when hemlines became a fashion battleground, designers and the press coined a tidy set of length labels: the very short 'mini', the ankle-length 'maxi', and the mid-calf 'midi' sitting between them. The clever little ending was borrowed from 'mini' and 'maxi' rather than being a real suffix, which is why 'midi' looks more like a brand-name coinage than an old word. The same three letters also spell the technology acronym MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), agreed in the early 1980s, but that is a coincidental match rather than a shared origin. The spelling stays simple once you remember it is just 'mid' with an i tacked on, and there is no hidden double letter or silent vowel to trip over.

How the word is built

• mid (middle, from Old English midd)
• -i (playful noun ending modelled on mini and maxi)