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Glite Dictionary
🗺️ Central area 🇬🇧 Central England
Midlands

Midlands

4.6
A central part of a country or region often seen as a separate area
  • noun
  • /ˈmɪdləndz/
translation icon : Midlands
  • The Midlands is known for its rich industrial heritage and beautiful countryside.

Examples

  • The word that the Cambridge people have for Oxford is the art school in the Midlands, and that the Oxford people have for Cambridge is the technical school in the Downs.

  • So much for the Midlands engine Reannounced funding for the Trans Pennine rail route won't cut it, and today's other announcements won't redress that balance.

  • So we've, we're giving this data out and obviously everyone's interested in their own little areas and the Midlands is, is obviously interesting.

  • Many people from the Midlands travel to London for work every day.

  • The football rivalry between teams from the Midlands is intense and long-standing.

Synonyms

heartland
vsMidlands
44 4.5

A central part of a country that is the core of its culture and economy

is the central part often seen as a distinct area without stressing importance
midland
vsMidlands
38 4.9

An area in the middle of a country away from the coast

is the central part often viewed as a distinct region rather than just interior

Surface Forms

Midlands singular
Midlands plural

Morphology

Midlands = Midland (transparent) = mid + land + s

The word is directly derived from the compound 'mid' + 'land' with a plural '-s', so learners can infer 'central lands' from known parts.

Etymology

Midlands comes from the simple parts middle ('the centre') and lands ('areas of land'), so it means the 'lands in the middle' of a country or region. That's why we use Midlands for the central part of a region.