intermédiat

Forms

intermédiat (feminine intermédiate), adjective and masculine noun^[1][2]

Etymology

It is a learned derivative from Latin intermedius (“intermediate”) with the suffix -at.^[1][2][3] The Latin adjective is the source of intermède.^[1][2] Littré analysed it as Latin inter (“between”) and médiat.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record (1519), in the feminine intermediate, is said of a person who serves as a go-between.^[1][2][3]

Semantic evolution

From 1542 it meant “intermediate” in temps intermédiat, the interval between two acts or two terms, where temps intermédiaire is the usual phrase.^[1][3][4] In religious orders a congrégation intermédiate (1694) was an assembly held between two general or provincial chapters.^[3][1]

As a noun it was used in lettres d'intermédiat (1690), royal letters that let someone draw the wages of an office between the death of its holder and the installation of his successor.^[3][1][4] The TLFi labels all these uses old.^[1]

Timeline

• 1519 – Intermediate is used of a person who acts as an intermediary.^[1][3]
• 1542 – Temps intermediat appears in Deroziers's translation of Dio Cassius.^[1]
• 1690 – Lettres d'intermédiat is recorded.^[3]
• 1694 – Congrégation intermédiate is recorded.^[3]
• 1835 – The Académie defines the three uses.^[1]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (dated) Intermediate: temps intermédiat, the interval between two actions or two terms.^[1][2][4]
2. (religion, dated) Congrégation intermédiate: an assembly of a religious order held between two chapters.^[1][2][4]

Noun

1. (history) Lettres d'intermédiat: royal letters allowing someone to draw the wages of an office between the death of its holder and the installation of the successor.^[1][2][4]

Related words

• intermédiaire
• intermède
• médiat
• Latin intermedius

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette