Among, Amongst, prep.
Etymology: [OE. amongist, amonges, amonge, among, AS. onmang, ongemang, gemang, in a crowd or mixture. For the ending -st see Amidst. See Mingle.]
1. Mixed or mingled; surrounded by. They heard, And from his presence hid themselves among The thickest trees. Milton.
2. Conjoined, or associated with, or making part of the number of; in the number or class of. Blessed art thou among women. Luke i. 28.
3. Expressing a relation of dispersion, distribution, etc.; also, a relation of reciprocal action. What news among the merchants Shak. Human sacrifices were practiced among them. Hume. Divide that gold amongst you. Marlowe. Whether they quarreled among themselves, or with their neighbors. Addison.
Syn. -- Amidst; between. See Amidst, Between.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for among; he lists it under amid.
Where he writes about it:
Amid or amidst denotes surrounded by; among or amongst denotes mingled with. — from amid
Amid denotes mere position; among, some active relation, as of companionship, hostility, etc. — from amid
Lowell's "Among my Books" regards the books as companions; amid my books would suggest packing, storing, or some other incidental circumstance. — from amid
We say among friends, or among enemies, amidst the woods, amid the shadows. — from amid
In the midst of may have merely the local meaning; as, I found myself in the midst of a crowd; or it may express even closer association than among; as, "I found myself in the midst of friends" suggests their pressing up on every side, oneself the central object; so, "where two or three are met together in my name, there am I in the midst of them," Matt. xviii, 20; in which case it would be feebler to say "among them," impossible to say "amid them," not so well to say "amidst them." — from amid