intermediary

/ˌˈɪntərˌmidiˈɛri/

/ɪntəˈmidiɛri/

Other forms: intermediaries

An intermediary is someone who acts as a go-between or a mediator between two other people. Be careful when you're the intermediary between two friends who are fighting, because they might both end up mad at you!

The word intermediary comes from the Latin intermedius, which is also the root word for intermediate. Inter- means between, and medius means the middle — intermediary retains that sense of being in the middle. Intermediaries are used to negotiate between two countries who are at odds, between a company and a client over a contract, between two bickering children, or between a boss and an employee in salary negotiations.

Definitions of intermediary

1. noun

   a negotiator who acts as a link between parties
   synonyms: go-between, intercessor, intermediator, mediator

   types:

   mediatrix

   a woman who is a mediator

   conciliator, make-peace, pacifier, peacemaker, reconciler

   someone who tries to bring peace

   diplomat

   a person who deals tactfully with others

   harmoniser, harmonizer

   a mediator who brings one thing into harmonious agreement with another

   interpreter, translator

   someone who mediates between speakers of different languages

   marriage broker, matcher, matchmaker

   someone who arranges (or tries to arrange) marriages for others

   moderator

   someone who mediates disputes and attempts to avoid violence

   second hand

   an intermediate person; used in the phrase `at second hand'

   appeaser

   someone who tries to bring peace by acceding to demands

   dragoman

   an interpreter and guide in the Near East; in the Ottoman Empire in the 18th and 19th centuries a translator of European languages for the Turkish and Arab authorities and most dragomans were Greek (many reached high positions in the government)

   modifier

   a moderator who makes less extreme or uncompromising

   symboliser, symbolist, symbolizer

   someone skilled in the interpretation or representation of symbols

   type of:

   negotiant, negotiator, treater

   someone who negotiates (confers with others in order to reach a settlement)