Middle Term

In logic, a middle term is a term that appears (as a subject or predicate of a categorical proposition) in both premises but not in the conclusion of a categorical syllogism. The middle term (in bold below) must be distributed in at least one premise but not in the conclusion. The major term and the minor terms, also called the end terms, do appear in the conclusion.

Example:

Major premise: All men are mortal.
Minor premise: Socrates is a man.
Conclusion: Socrates is mortal.

The middle term is bolded above.

Famous quotes containing the words middle and/or term:

    “We know what happens to people who stay in the middle of the road. They get run over.”
    —Aneurin Bevan (1897–1960)

    “One man isn’t any better than another, not because they are equal, but because they are intrinsically other, that there is no term of comparison.”
    —D.H. (David Herbert)