What is the difference between amidst and among?
amidst | among |
In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among.
* 1748 . David Hume. Enquiries Concerning the Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. § 4.
* 1912 , (Edgar Rice Burroughs), (Tarzan of the Apes), Chapter 5
Denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. (See Usage Note at amidst)
Denotes a belonging of a person or a thing to a group.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-10, volume=408, issue=8848, magazine=(The Economist)
, title= Denotes a sharing of a common feature in a group.
*
Among is a synonym of amidst.
As prepositions the difference between amidst and among
is that amidst is in the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among while among is denotes a mingling or intermixing with distinct or separable objects. (See Usage Note at amidst.amidst
English
Alternative forms
* amidest (obsolete) * amiddst (qualifier) * amiddest (obsolete) * amydst (obsolete) * amyddst (qualifier) * amyddest (qualifier)Preposition
(English prepositions)- Be a philosopher ; but amidst all your philosophy, be still a man.
- Not so, however, with Tarzan, the man-child. His life amidst the dangers of the jungle had taught him to meet emergencies with self-confidence, and his higher intelligence resulted in a quickness of mental action far beyond the powers of the apes.
Synonyms
* amid * among * amongstUsage notes
As with other words with excrescent suffix , amidst is generally considered synonymous with simpler amid, and amid is preferred by style guides on both sides of the Atlantic.TimesOnline], [http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/w The Guardian] and [http://www.hansard.ca/styleguide.pdf Hansard(Canadian parliament) Further, amidst /amid'' are similar in meaning to – but distinct from – ''amongst''/''among''. ''Amid]](st)'' denotes that something is "in the midst of", "surrounded by" other things, and is used when the idea of separate things is not prominent. ''[[among, Among(st)'' denotes that something is mingling with other separable things ("blessed art thou among women").
References
Anagrams
*among
English
Alternative forms
* amonge (archaic) * amoung (obsolete)Preposition
(English prepositions)Can China clean up fast enough?, passage=All this has led to an explosion of protest across China, including among a middle class that has discovered nimbyism.}}
- Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us […]
