The word 中途 is formed by combining two characters: 中, meaning "middle" or "midway", and 途, meaning "way", "road", or "journey". Together, they create a conceptual compound where the sense of "middle" directly modifies the sense of "journey", resulting in the literal meaning of "midway on the road" or "in the middle of the path". This naturally extends to the figurative meaning of being in the middle of any course of action or process.