Noun: middle term
- The term in a syllogism that is common to both premises and excluded from the conclusion
"In the syllogism 'All humans are mortal; Socrates is human; therefore, Socrates is mortal,' the middle term is 'human'"
Derived forms: middle terms
Type of: term
Part of: major premise, major premiss, minor premise, minor premiss, subsumption
Encyclopedia: Middle term