intermediate meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

intermediate

adj

/ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/ · /ˌɪn.tɚˈmi.di.ət/

Etymology Borrowed from Medieval Latin intermediātus, perfect passive participle of intermediō (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), further from intermedius (“intermediate”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).

Being between two extremes, or in the middle of a range.

Then, being on his knees between my thighs, he drew up his ſhirt, and bared all his hairy thighs, and ſtiff ſtaring truncheon, red-topt, and rooted into a thicket of curls, which cover’d his belly to his navel, and gave it the air of a fleſh-bruſh: and ſoon I felt it joining cloſe to mine, when he had drove the nail up to the head, and left no partition but the intermediate hair on both ſides.1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the First]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume I, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, pages 165–166:
Such was the station provided for the infrequent services of 1852, when suburban traffic was unheard of, and Hornsey, Colney Hatch & Southgate, Barnet, and Potters Bar were the only intermediate stations on the 17¾ miles between London and Hatfield.1952 October, C. A. Johns, “One Hundred Years at Kings Cross—1”, in Railway Magazine, pages 650-651:

2 more examples

The outstanding train on the L.M.S. route was the 6.20 p.m. from Birmingham, which reached Euston in two hours after intermediate stops at Coventry, Rugby and Watford Junction, and evoked some sparkling performances from "Patriot" and "Jubilee" 4-6-0s.1960 February, R. C. Riley, “The London-Birmingham services - Past, Present and Future”, in Trains Illustrated, page 98:
The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure.2013 August 3, “The machine of a new soul”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:

Synonyms: average, intermediate, middle, middling, mild, medium, moderate
Antonyms: extreme, intense
Derived terms: 32 terms
dorsointermediate, higher intermediate fare, higher intermediate point, intermediacy, intermediate black hole, intermediate cuneiform bone, intermediate egret, intermediate filament, intermediate frequency, intermediate language, intermediately, intermediate mass black hole, intermediate nerve, intermediateness, intermediate phalange, intermediate phalanx, intermediate school, intermediate scrutiny, intermediate switch, intermediate time, intermediate value theorem, intermediate vector boson, intermediate-velocity, logamediate, neurointermediate, nonintermediate, phosphointermediate, photointermediate, posterointermediate, reactive intermediate, unintermediate, ventrointermediate
Related terms: small, big
Hyponyms: mediocre

intermediate

noun

Etymology From a substantivization of the above adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

Anything in an intermediate position.

In Oklahoma, an intermediate license holder may not carry more than one non-family member in the vehicle unless accompanied in the front seat by a licensed driver over 21 years of age.2024, NTSB, Intersection Crash Between Passenger Car and Combination Vehicle, Tishomingo, Oklahoma, March 22, 2022:

An intermediary.

An automobile that is larger than a compact but smaller than a full-sized car.

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Any substance formed as part of a series of chemical reactions that is not the end-product.

Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Any such substance that is produced and sold to commercial customers (business-to-business sales) as an input to other chemical processes.

Chemical industries

Hobbies, Lifestyle, Motor racing, Racing, Sports A kind of tyre with relatively light grooving, used for conditions between fully dry and fully wet.

Light rain was coming so he chose intermediate tyres.

intermediate

verb

/ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.diˌeɪt/ · /ˌɪn.tɚˈmi.di.eɪt/

Etymology Borrowed from Medieval Latin intermediātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.

To mediate, to be an intermediate.

To arrange, in the manner of a broker.

Central banks need to regulate the entities that intermediate monetary transactions.

Derived terms: intermediation, intermediatory

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

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Conjugation of “intermediate”, all tenses