Standard Lemma guide

midbrain

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A part of the brain located rostral to the pons and caudal to the thalamus and the basal ganglia, composed of the tectum (dorsal portion) and the tegmentum (ventral portion).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: anatomy, medicine, neuroanatomy, neurology, neuroscience, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

the middle portion of the brain

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mesencephalon

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: neural structure

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *me Proto-Indo-European *dheh1-? Proto-Indo-European *-dhe Proto-Indo-European *médhi Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *médhyos Proto-Germanic *midjaz Proto-West Germanic *midi Old English midd Middle English mid English mid English mid- Proto-Indo-European *mregh- Proto-Indo-European *-n̥ Proto-Indo-European *mrógh-n̥ ~ *mrégh-n̥-s Proto-Germanic *bragną Proto-West Germanic *bragn Old English bræġn Middle English brayn English brain English midbrain From mid- + brain.

Across languages

Translations

40 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Azerbaijani: orta beyin — part of brain
  • Chinese Mandarin: 中腦 /中脑 (zhōngnǎo) — part of brain
  • Czech: střední mozek — part of brain
  • Danish: mesencephalon — part of brain
  • Danish: midthjernen — part of brain
  • Dutch: mesencephalon — part of brain
  • Dutch: middenhersen — part of brain
  • Estonian: keskaju — part of brain
  • Finnish: keskiaivot — part of brain
  • French: mésencéphale — part of brain
  • French: cerveau moyen — part of brain
  • Georgian: შუამდებარე ტვინი (šuamdebare ṭvini) — part of brain
  • Georgian: შუა ტვინი (šua ṭvini) — part of brain
  • German: Mittelhirn — part of brain
  • Greek: μεσεγκέφαλος (mesegkéfalos) — part of brain
  • Hindi: मध्यमस्तिष्क (madhyamastiṣk) — part of brain
  • Indonesian: otak tengah — part of brain
  • Irish: lárinchinn — part of brain
  • Italian: mesemcefalo — part of brain
  • Japanese: 中脳 (chūnō) — part of brain
  • Javanese: ꦲꦸꦠꦏ꧀ꦠꦺꦔꦃ (utak tengah) — part of brain
  • Kabuverdianu: mezenséfalu — part of brain
  • Kabuverdianu: mezenséfalo — part of brain
  • Korean: 중간뇌 (junggannoe) — part of brain
  • Northern Kurdish: demaxê naverast — part of brain
  • Latin: mesencephalon — part of brain
  • Lithuanian: vidurinės smegenys — part of brain
  • Macedonian: среден мозок (sreden mozok) — part of brain
  • Malay: otak tengah — part of brain
  • Norwegian: mesencephalon — part of brain
  • Polish: śródmózgowie — part of brain
  • Portuguese: mesencéfalo — part of brain
  • Russian: сре́дний мозг (srédnij mozg) — part of brain
  • Slovak: stredný mozog — part of brain
  • Spanish: mesencéfalo — part of brain
  • Swedish: mesencephalon — part of brain
  • Swedish: mitthjärnan — part of brain
  • Tagalog: gitnangutak — part of brain
  • Vietnamese: não giữa — part of brain
  • Welsh: canol-ymennydd — part of brain