Mediocre

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌmiːdɪˈəʊkə/

Definitions

1. Of average or moderate quality, neither particularly good nor particularly bad
2. Describing something as being of only fair quality, lacking anything exceptional or noteworthy, and failing to stand out in a significant way
3. Having a level of quality that is neither poor nor excellent, but rather ordinary and unremarkable

Etymology: The Latin "mediocris" originally described a physical place rather than a level of quality. It combined "medius" ("middle") with "ocris", a word for a rugged, craggy mountain, so the earliest sense was something like "halfway up the mountain." From there it came to mean being in a middle state, of middle size, or moderate, and only later drifted toward the sense of ordinary and unremarkable. The word reached English by way of French "médiocre," which kept the Latin sense of moderate or middling. The idea of a middle position between two extremes is still visible in the English adjective, which is why it describes work that is neither excellent nor terrible but simply sits in the middle. The related nouns "mediocrity" and the adverb "mediocrely" follow the same path, sharing the Latin root that set the word on its way.

Synonyms: average, ordinary, unremarkable, passable, fair

Antonyms: exceptional, outstanding, superior, remarkable, excellent