Ma'anar ƙamus na kalmar "tsakiya" shine inganci ko yanayin zama tsakiya, tsakiya, ko matsayi na kasancewa tsakiya ga wani abu, tsari, ko rukuni. Yana iya nufin wuri na zahiri ko na yanki, matsayi mai mahimmanci, ko matakin tasiri ko iko. A cikin nazarin hanyoyin sadarwar zamantakewa, tsakiya yana nufin matakin da kumburi (misali, mutum ko ƙungiya) ke tsakiyar cibiyar sadarwar bisa ga ma'auni daban-daban kamar digiri na tsakiya, tsaka-tsakin tsaka-tsakin, da tsakiya na eigenvector.