Mediocrity

Mediocrity

Noun · /ˌmiː.diˈɒk.rɪ.ti/

Definition

The quality of being mediocre; the state of being ordinary and of only moderate quality; a mediocre person or thing.

Origin

From Latin mediocritas (moderation, mediocrity), from mediocris (moderate, middling). The Latin mediocritas was a positive concept in Stoic and Aristotelian ethics — the golden mean, the middle way between extremes. The English word has lost this positive valence and now typically describes an unsatisfactory middleness. The word has been in English since the 15th century.