The middle or central point of something; being surrounded by or in the company of people or things.
From Old English 'middes,' the superlative form of 'mid' meaning 'middle.' The '-st' ending comes from archaic superlative formations.
The phrase 'in the midst of' has been used in English for over 1,000 years, and the word 'midst' itself is actually a superlative, like saying 'in the most-middlest part'—a linguistic fossil showing how our grammar has changed!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.