mid-1970
UK[ˌmɪd naɪnˌtiːn ˈsevntiz]US[ˌmɪd naɪnˌtiːn ˈsevntiz]
adj
Of, relating to, or characteristic of the period around the middle of the decade of the 1970s.
Morpheme Breakdown
mid
1970s
mid
middle
1970s
the decade from 1970 to 1979
Etymology
The term is a modern English compound formed by combining the prefix "mid-", a direct descendant from the Old English midd, with the specific calendrical designation "1970s". The prefix "mid-" has maintained a remarkably stable semantic core from its Proto-Germanic root midja- and Proto-Indo-European médʰyos, consistently meaning "middle". Its application to decades follows a productive pattern in English for specifying the central part of a century ("mid-century") or, as here, a decade. The logic is purely chronological and denotative, pinpointing the approximate years 1974-1976 within the broader cultural and historical period defined by the 1970s.
Analysis
Structure: mid (middle) + 1970s (the decade from 1970 to 1979)
- mid: From Old English midd (middle, midst). A combining form used to denote the middle point or period of something.
- 1970s: A compound numeral representing the years from 1970 to 1979, derived from the base year "1970" (nineteen hundred and seventy) with the plural suffix "-s" indicating a range of years.
Examples
The disco music genre reached its peak of popularity in the mid-1970s.
Many classic rock albums were released during the mid-1970s.
The economic stagnation of the mid-1970s led to significant political changes.