Word Study
intermediate
CIDE DICTIONARY
intermediate, a. [Pref. inter- + mediate: cf. F. intermédiat.].
- Lying or being in the middle place or degree, or between two extremes; coming or done between; intervening; interposed; interjacent; as, an intermediate space or time; intermediate colors. [1913 Webster]
- Of or pertaining to an intermediate school; as, intermediate education. [PJC]
intermediate, v. i.
To come between; to intervene; to interpose. Milton. [1913 Webster]
intermediate, n.
- A person who intermediates between others, especially in negotiations; an intermediary; a mediator. [PJC]
- Something that is intermediate. [PJC]
- A compound which is produced in the course of a chemical synthesis, which is not itself the final product, but is used in further reactions which produce the final product; also called
synthetic intermediate ,intermediate compound orintermediate product ; -- contrasted tostarting material andend product orfinal product . There may be many different intermediates between thestarting material and end product in the course of a complex synthesis; as, many industrial chemicals are produced primarily to be used as intermediates in other syntheses."The term has the same meaning with respect to intermediate compounds produced in a biosynthetic pathway in living organisms." [PJC]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
intermediate, adj., n., & v.
--adj. coming between two things in time, place, order, character, etc.
--n.
1 an intermediate thing.
2 a chemical compound formed by one reaction and then used in another, esp. during synthesis.
--v.intr. (foll. by between) act as intermediary; mediate.
--adj. coming between two things in time, place, order, character, etc.
--n.
1 an intermediate thing.
2 a chemical compound formed by one reaction and then used in another, esp. during synthesis.
--v.intr. (foll. by between) act as intermediary; mediate.
Idiom
intermediate frequency the frequency to which a radio signal is converted during heterodyne reception.
Derivative
intermediacy n. intermediately adv. intermediateness n. intermediation n. intermediator n.
Etymology
med.L intermediatus (as INTER-, medius middle)
THESAURUS
intermediate
Charlie McCarthy, Hydromatic, act between, agent, amidships, ancilla, appliance, arbitrate, arbitrational, arbitrative, arbitrator, automatic transmission, average, banal, bargain, broker, center, central, cogwheel, coming between, common, connection, contact, contrivance, core, creature, deputy, device, differential, differential gear, dummy, dupe, entrepreneur, equatorial, equidistant, fair, fairish, freewheel, front, front man, gear, gear train, gearbox, gearing, gearshift, gearwheel, go between, go-between, going between, halfway, handmaid, handmaiden, high, implement, indifferent, instrument, interagent, intercede, interceder, intercessional, intercessor, intercessory, intercurrent, interfere, interior, interjacent, interlocutory, intermedial, intermediary, intermediate agent, intermediator, intermediatory, intermedium, internuncio, interpleader, interpose, intervene, intervener, intervenient, intervening, interventional, interventionist, interventor, judge, lever, low, make terms, mean, mechanism, medial, median, mediate, mediating, mediative, mediator, mediatorial, mediatory, mediocre, mediterranean, medium, meet halfway, mesial, mesne, mezzo, mid, middle, middle-of-the-road, middleman, middlemost, middling, midland, midmost, midships, midway, midwife, minion, moderate, mouthpiece, negotiant, negotiate, negotiator, negotiatress, negotiatrix, neutral, normal, nuclear, ombudsman, ordinary, organ, overdrive, pacificatory, pawn, plaything, puppet, rack, referee, represent, reverse, routine, servant, slave, so-so, spokesman, spokeswoman, standard, standard transmission, step in, stick shift, stooge, synchromesh, tool, toy, transitional, transmission, treat with, umpire, usual, vehicleROGET THESAURUS
intermediate
Instrumentality
N instrumentality, aid, subservience, subserviency, mediation, intervention, medium, intermedium, vehicle, hand, agency, minister, handmaid, midwife, accoucheur, accoucheuse, obstetrician, gobetween, cat's-paw, stepping-stone, opener, key, master key, passkey, latchkey, open sesame, passport, passe-partout, safe-conduct, password, instrument, expedient, means, instrumental, useful, ministerial, subservient, mediatorial, intermediate, intervening, conducive, through, by, per, whereby, thereby, hereby, by the agency of, by dint of, by virtue of, in virtue of, through the medium of, along with, on the shoulders of, by means of, by the aid of, with the aid of, per fas et nefas, by fair means or foul, somehow, somehow or other, by hook or by crook.Mean
N mean, average, median, mode, balance, medium, mediocrity, generality, golden mean middle, compromise, middle course, middle state, neutrality, mediocrity, least common denominator, mean, intermediate, middle, average, neutral, mediocre, middle-class, commonplace, on an average, in the long run, taking one with another, taking all things together, taking it for all in all, communibus annis, in round numbers, medium tenuere beati.Middle
N middle, midst, mediety, mean, medium, middle term, center &c, mid-course, mezzo termine, juste milieu, halfway house, nave, navel, omphalos, nucleus, nucleolus, equidistance, bisection, half distance, equator, diaphragm, midriff, intermediate, middle, medial, mesial, mean, mid, median, average, middlemost, midmost, mediate, intermediate, equidistant, central, mediterranean, equatorial, homocentric, in the middle, midway, halfway, midships, amidships, in medias res, middle, midst, mediety, mean, medium, middle term, center &c, mid-course, mezzo termine, juste milieu, halfway house, nave, navel, omphalos, nucleus, nucleolus, equidistance, bisection, half distance, equator, diaphragm, midriff, intermediate, middle, medial, mesial, mean, mid, median, average, middlemost, midmost, mediate, intermediate, equidistant, central, mediterranean, equatorial, homocentric, in the middle, midway, halfway, midships, amidships, in medias res.Interposition
N interposition, interjacence, intercurrence, intervenience, interlocation, interdigitation, interjection, interpolation, interlineation, interspersion, intercalation, interpenetration, permeation, infiltration, intervention, interference, intrusion, obtrusion, insinuation, insertion, dovetailing, embolism, intermediary, intermedium, go between, bodkin, intruder, interloper, parenthesis, episode, flyleaf, partition, septum, diaphragm, midriff, dissepiment, party wall, panel, room divider, halfway house, interjacent, intercurrent, intervenient, intervening, intermediate, intermediary, intercalary, interstitial, embolismal, parenthetical, episodic, mediterranean, intrusive, embosomed, merged, between, betwixt, twixt, among, amongst, amid, amidst, mid, midst, in the thick of, betwixt and between, sandwich-wise, parenthetically, obiter dictum.For further exploring for "intermediate" in Webster Dictionary Online