- mediocre
- 1586, from Fr. médiocre, from L. mediocris "of middling height or state," originally "halfway up a mountain," from medius "middle" (see medial) + ocris "jagged mountain" (cf. Gk. okris "peak, point," Welsh ochr "corner, border," L. acer "sharp;" see acrid). Mediocrity is first recorded 1531, from M.Fr. médiocrité, from L. mediocritatem (nom. mediocritas) "a middling condition," from mediocris.