midbrain

M3I1D2B3R1A1I1N1

noun

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).

Similar
mesencephalon
OriginEnglish brain ← Middle English brayn ← Old English bræġn →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounmidbrain (plural midbrains)

plural midbrains · alternative middlebrain

  1. anatomyA 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).

    When the instinctive and subconscious world of the snake is confronted in initiation, the vital force of the snake rises and floods the second brain, the midbrain, the limbic ring.

    1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 226

    Synonyms: mesencephalon

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA 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).

Similar
mesencephalon

More synonyms by meaning

nounthe middle portion of the brain

Similar
mesencephalon
Broader
neural structure
Also see
mesencephalonmiddlebrain

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*me
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*médʰi
  4. Proto-Indo-European*médʰyos
  5. Proto-Germanic*midjaz
  6. Proto-West Germanic*midi
  7. Old Englishmidd
  8. Middle Englishmid
  9. Englishmid
  10. Englishmid-
  11. Proto-Indo-European*mregʰ-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*mrógʰ-n̥ ~ *mrégʰ-n̥-s
  13. Proto-Germanic*bragną
  14. Proto-West Germanic*bragn
  15. Old Englishbræġn
  16. Middle Englishbrayn
  17. Englishbrain
  18. Englishmidbrain

From mid- + brain.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 中腦 /中脑
  • 中腦 /中脑 (zhōngnǎo)part of brain
Czech střední mozek
  • střední mozekpart of brain
Danish mesencephalon, midthjernen
  • mesencephalonpart of brain
  • midthjernenpart of brain
Dutch mesencephalon, middenhersen
  • mesencephalonpart of brain
  • middenhersenpart of brain
Estonian keskaju
  • keskajupart of brain
Finnish keskiaivot
  • keskiaivotpart of brain
French mésencéphale, cerveau moyen
  • mésencéphalepart of brain
  • cerveau moyenpart of brain
German Mittelhirn
  • Mittelhirnpart of brain
Greek μεσεγκέφαλος
  • μεσεγκέφαλος (mesegkéfalos)part of brain
Hindi मध्यमस्तिष्क
  • मध्यमस्तिष्क (madhyamastiṣk)part of brain
Indonesian otak tengah
  • otak tengahpart of brain
Irish lárinchinn
  • lárinchinnpart of brain
Italian mesemcefalo
  • mesemcefalopart of brain
Japanese 中脳
  • 中脳 (chūnō)part of brain
Korean 중간뇌
  • 중간뇌 (junggannoe)part of brain
Latin mesencephalon
  • mesencephalonpart of brain
Lithuanian vidurinės smegenys
  • vidurinės smegenyspart of brain
Malay otak tengah
  • otak tengahpart of brain
Norwegian mesencephalon
  • mesencephalonpart of brain
Polish śródmózgowie
  • śródmózgowiepart of brain
Portuguese mesencéfalo
  • mesencéfalopart of brain
Russian сре́дний мозг
  • сре́дний мозг (srédnij mozg)part of brain
Slovak stredný mozog
  • stredný mozogpart of brain
Spanish mesencéfalo
  • mesencéfalopart of brain
Swedish mesencephalon, mitthjärnan
  • mesencephalonpart of brain
  • mitthjärnanpart of brain
Tagalog gitnangutak
  • gitnangutakpart of brain
Vietnamese não giữa
  • não giữapart of brain
Welsh canol-ymennydd
  • canol-ymennyddpart of brain
Cite this entry
APA

midbrain. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midbrain

MLA

“midbrain.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midbrain. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “midbrain,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/midbrain.

Source: midbrain on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.