mid-40s
UK[ˌmɪd ˈfɔːti z]US[ˌmɪd ˈfɔːrṭi z]
n
The period of life between approximately 44 and 46 years of age.
n
The years in a century from 1944 to 1946, or 1844 to 1846, etc.
Morpheme Breakdown
mid
40s
mid
middle
40s
the decade of one's forties
Etymology
The term is a modern English compound, formed by combining the adjective 'mid', with roots in the Proto-Germanic 'midja-' and ultimately the Proto-Indo-European 'medhyo-' meaning "middle", with the numeral '40s'. This construction follows a transparent and productive pattern in English for specifying the central portion of a range, such as 'mid-June' or 'mid-century'. Its logic is purely positional, using 'mid' to pinpoint the center of the decade of one's forties (roughly ages 40-49) or a historical century's fifth decade. The term reflects a societal convention of segmenting life and time into decades, with the "mid" point carrying connotations of being neither early nor late within that span.
Analysis
Structure: mid (middle) + 40s (the decade of one's forties)
- mid: From Old English 'midd', meaning "middle". It functions as a combining form to denote the central point or period of something.
- 40s: A plural numeral derived from Old English 'fēowertig', referring to the number forty. The suffix '-s' indicates the plural, here representing the range of years in that decade.
Examples
She made a significant career change in her mid-40s.
The technology was first developed in the mid-40s of the twentieth century.
He's not yet fifty; I'd estimate he's in his mid-40s.