What does intermediacy mean?
Intermediacy means the condition or role of serving as an intermediary: a person, institution, or process positioned between other people or stages. It can describe an arrangement in which a third party helps communication, negotiation, or trade, such as the intermediacy of a broker between buyers and sellers. The word can also refer more broadly to something’s lying between two points, though this sense is less common. Its vocabulary is formal and appears especially in legal, political, economic, and academic contexts. Compared with mediation, which usually emphasizes the activity of settling or facilitating communication, intermediacy focuses more on the intermediary position itself. The term is useful when discussing the importance and sometimes the influence of go-betweens in social and institutional systems.
nounThe state or position of being an intermediary, especially someone or something that connects two parties, stages, or points in a process.
- The condition or position of being an intermediary.
- The state of occurring or lying between two parties, stages, or points.
"The intermediary's role was replaced by the intermediacy of an online platform that connected buyers and sellers."
"The dispute was resolved through the intermediacy of an experienced mediator."
"The company valued the intermediacy of local distributors between manufacturers and customers."
Intermediacy is the name for the power of standing between: a bridge, broker, or go-between in human affairs.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does intermediacy come from?
Intermediacy was formed in the early 19th century from Latin inter, meaning “between,” and mediātus, the participle of mediāre, meaning “to be in the middle.” The related English words intermediate, intermediary, mediate, and intermediation were likewise influenced by these Latin forms. Their shared sense developed from the idea of occupying a middle position or connecting separated parties.
Related word forms
How intermediacy is actually used
A formal and relatively uncommon noun. It is more often encountered in legal, political, academic, or historical writing than in everyday speech.
Easily confused with intermediacy
Intermediacy names the state or position of being an intermediary, whereas intermediation more often refers to the act of mediating or serving as an intermediary.
Intermediate is usually an adjective describing something lying between two positions or stages, while intermediacy is a noun meaning the condition of serving as an intermediary.