mediate

mediate

See also: médiate

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin mediatus, past participle of mediare (“to divide in the middle”) (in Medieval Latin, also “to be in the middle, be or become between, mediate”), from Latin medius (“middle”).

Pronunciation

• (verb) (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmidieɪt/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

• (adjective) (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmidi.ət/

• Audio (RP)

  (file)

Verb

mediate (third-person singular simple present mediates, present participle mediating, simple past and past participle mediated)

1. (transitive) To resolve differences, or to bring about a settlement, between conflicting parties.

   Negotiators managed to mediate a ceasefire.

2. (intransitive) To intervene between conflicting parties in order to resolve differences or bring about a settlement.
   • 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, page 352:

     "Nay," replied Charles, gravely, "this is carrying your anger too far. Allow me to mediate between you. I must entreat, nay, I command, the Lady Francesca's presence."

3. To divide into two equal parts.
   • 1701, William Holder, A Discourse Concerning Time

     Space from the elevation of one Foot, to the same Foot set down again, mediated by a step of the other Foot a Pace […]

4. To act as an intermediary causal or communicative agent; to convey.
   • 2019, Li Huang; James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, DOI:10.1080/01434632.2019.1596115, page 8:

     [A]s much as language in our modern technological world is mediated through the written word, quantitatively spoken language still reigns supreme.

5. To act as a spiritualistic medium.

Related terms

• mean
• median
• mediation
• mediator
• medium

Translations

resolve differences

Bulgarian: посреднича (bg) (posredniča) Chinese: Mandarin: 經調解達成／经调解达成 (jīng tiáojiě dáchéng) Finnish: sovitella (fi), toimia välittäjänä, välittää (fi) German: schlichten (de) Greek: Ancient: μεσιτεύω (mesiteúō) Italian: mediare (it) Romanian: media (ro) Serbo-Croatian: pòsredovati (sh) Spanish: mediar (es) Swedish: medla (sv), förhandla (sv), förlika (sv)

intervene between conflicting parties

Chinese: Mandarin: 調解／调解 (zh) (tiáojiě) Finnish: sovitella (fi), välittää (fi) German: vermitteln (de) Gothic: 𐌼𐌹𐌳𐌿𐌼𐍉𐌽 (midumōn) Greek: μεσολαβώ (el) (mesolavó) Hungarian: közbenjár (hu), közvetít (hu) Italian: mediare (it) Macedonian: посредува (posreduva) Serbo-Croatian: pòsredovati (sh) Spanish: mediar (es), terciar (es) Swedish: medla (sv)

act as communicative agent

Latvian: būt par vidutāju Spanish: vehicular (es)

Adjective

mediate

1. Acting through a mediating agency, indirect.
   • 1861, Sir William Hamilton, The Metaphysics of Sir William Hamilton (page 318)

     The Leibnitzio-Wolfians distinguish three acts in the process of representative cognition: — 1° the act of representing a (mediate) object to the mind; 2° the representation, or, to speak more properly, representamen, itself as an (immediate or vicarious) object exhibited to the mind; 3° the act by which the mind is conscious, immediately of the representative object, and, through it, mediately of the remote object represented.

   • 1989, Oliver Sacks, Seeing Voices: A Journey Into the World of the Deaf

     Vygotsky saw the development of language and mental powers as neither learned, in the ordinary way, nor emerging epigenetically, but as being social and mediate in nature, as arising from the interaction of adult and child, and as internalizing the cultural instrument of language for the processes of thought.

2. Intermediate between extremes.
   • 1709, Mat[thew] Prior, “Charity”, in Poems on Several Occasions, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], OCLC 1103119849:

     soon the mediate clouds shall be dispell'd

3. Gained or effected by a medium or condition.
   • 1605, Francis Bacon, “(please specify |book=1 or 2)”, in The Tvvoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for Henrie Tomes, […], OCLC 932932554:

     mediate positive proof

Derived terms

• immediate
• immediately
• mediately

Translations

Acting through a mediating agency

Swedish: medelbar (sv), indirekt (sv)

intermediate — see intermediate

Further reading

• mediate in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• mediate in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

Anagrams

• medaite

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Italian

Adjective

mediate f pl

1. feminine plural of mediato

Verb

mediate

1. inflection of mediare:
   1. second-person plural present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person plural imperative
   3. feminine plural past participle

Anagrams

• medietà

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Latin

Participle

mediāte

1. vocative masculine singular of mediātus