mediate
/ˈmidieɪt/ verb, adjective
Forms mediates mediating mediated
- verb (transitive) To resolve differences, or to bring about a settlement, between conflicting parties. “Negotiators managed to mediate a ceasefire.”
- verb (intransitive) To intervene between conflicting parties in order to resolve differences or bring about a settlement.
- verb To divide into two equal parts.
- verb To act as an intermediary causal or communicative agent; to convey.
- verb To act as a spiritualistic medium.
- verb To communicate via media; to frame; to provide a cultural narrative about.
- adjective Acting through a mediating agency, indirect.
- adjective Intermediate between extremes.
- adjective Gained or effected by a medium or condition.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
The adjective is first attested in the 1440s in Middle English, the verb in 1538; from Middle English mediat(e) (“intermediate; intercessory”), borrowed from Late Latin mediātus, perfect passive participle of mediō (“to divide in the middle; (in Medieval Latin) to be in the middle, be or become between, mediate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from medius (“middle”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Being between the two extremes; middle; interposed; intervening; intermediate. Prior.
- adjective Acting by means, or by an intervening cause or instrument; not direct or immediate; acting or suffering through an intervening agent or condition.
- verb To be in the middle, or between two; to intervene. [R.]
- verb To interpose between parties, as the equal friend of each, esp. for the purpose of effecting a reconciliation or agreement; as, to mediate between nations.
Etymology [L. mediatus, p. p. of mediare, v. t., to halve, v. i., to be in the middle. See Mid, and cf. Moiety.]
Etymology [LL. mediatus, p. p. of mediare to mediate. See Mediate, a.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mediate”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details