Mediopassive

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a verb form, especially in Greek grammar, that combines middle and passive voice functions in one construction
2. Of a grammatical voice in which the subject both acts and is acted upon, as in certain Greek and Sanskrit verb forms
3. Characterizing a verb inflection that blends the middle voice with the passive, marking an action done to or for the subject

Etymology: "Mediopassive" is a modern grammatical coinage, built by joining "medio-", from Latin "medius" meaning "middle", to "passive". The two parts name the two voices it blends. In Greek grammar, a verb form that works both as a middle (the subject acts on or for itself) and as a passive (the subject receives an action) is the situation the term describes. The word is a straightforward compound rather than a term with a long history of its own. Its meaning follows directly from its parts: "medio-" points to the middle voice and "passive" to the passive voice, so the label signals a verb form that sits between the two categories. It is used mainly in discussions of ancient Greek, where many verb forms share endings and functions across these voices.