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Middle America¹

A region of southern North America comprising Mexico, Central America, and sometimes the West Indies.

Middle American adj. & n.

Middle America²

1. That part of the US middle class thought of as being average in income and education and moderately conservative in values and attitudes.

2. The American heartland thought of as being made up of small towns, small cities, and suburbs.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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