Dictionary definition(s) for: medium

• n., [diplomatics] An extrinsic element of documentary form that comprises the material carrying the message of a document.
  See Also:

  • digital medium
  • analogue medium
• n., The physical material or substance upon which information can be or is recorded or stored.
  [ Archives - School of Library, Archival and Information Studies (SLAIS) Glossary ]
  School of Library, Archival and Information Studies. "Select List of Archival Terminology." School of Library, Archival and Information Studies. http://www.slais.ubc.ca/RESOURCES/students/Archival_Terminology.pdf.
  See Also:

  • digital medium
  • analogue medium
  • Ontology A
• n., A material or base on which information is stored or transmitted. It may be a physical medium such as a gramophone record or a piece of paper or be virtual (for example, a radio carrier signal).
  [ Arts - A Guide to Standards, Recommended Practices and Reference Literature Related to the Preservation of Documents of All Kinds - Glossary , Page: 53 ]
  Boston, George, and Milton Keynes, eds. Safeguarding the Documentary Heritage: A Guide to Standards, Recommended Practices and Reference Literature Related to the Preservation of Documents of All Kinds. Paris: UNESCO, 1998. Also available online at http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0011/001126/112676eo.pdf.
• n., In information storage and retrieval, the physical substance or material on which data is recorded (parchment, paper, film, magnetic tape or disk, optical disk, etc.) or through which data is transmitted (optical fiber, coaxial cable, twisted pair, etc.). In a more general sense, the material or technical means by which any creative work is expressed or communicated, in print or nonprint format.
  [ - Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science (ODLIS) ]
  Reitz, Joan M. ODLIS: Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science . Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. http://lu.com/odlis/.
• n., Term used to refer to the actual physical material chosen as a vehicle of expression for any work of art. In painting it is used more specifically for the liquid in which the pigment is suspended.
  [ Arts - The Dictionary of Art ]
  The Dictionary of Art. Edited by Jane Turner. New York: Grove, 1996.
• n., Term used to refer to the material or form of expression employed by an artist; thus painting, sculpture, and drawing are three different media, and bronze, marble, and wood are three of the media of sculpture.
  [ Arts - The Oxford Dictionary of Art ]
  The Oxford Dictionary of Art. Ed. Ian Chilvers. Oxford University Press, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. University of British Columbia. 4 August 2006 http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t2.e2303 <>
• n., The material support of the record content and form. Alias: storage medium.
  [ Archives - Preservation of the Integrity of Electronic Records , Page: 119 ]
  Duranti, Luciana, Terry Eastwood, and Heather MacNeil. Preservation of the Integrity of Electronic Records. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2002.
• n., The physical material in or on which data may be recorded, i.e. clay tablet, papyrus, paper, parchment, film, magnetic tape (plural: mediums).
  [ Archives - Dictionary of Archival Terminology ]
  Dictionary of Archival Terminology. 2nd rev. ed. Edited by Peter Walne. New York: K.G. Saur, 1988.