Intermediate

How to spell intermediate

12 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce intermediate

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does intermediate mean?

1. adjectiveComing between two stages, levels, or positions; in the middle.
2. nounA person or thing occupying a middle position between two others.

Intermediate in a sentence

• adjective

  She enrolled in an intermediate Spanish course after finishing the beginner classes.

• noun

  The chemical is an intermediate formed briefly during the reaction.

• adjective

  The report describes an intermediate stage between planning and full production.

• noun

  The coaching group placed her with the other intermediate players for practice.

Where does intermediate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin intermedius, which literally meant 'lying in the middle' or 'in between', formed from inter, meaning 'between', and medius, meaning 'middle'. From it came the late Latin intermediatus, and English adopted the word in the early 1600s, first as an adjective describing anything situated between two points, stages, or extremes. The medius root is a busy one in English, surfacing in 'medium', 'median', 'mediate', and even 'mediocre', all of which carry that core sense of the middle. The spelling trap lives in the unstressed middle of the word: the 'inter' prefix is easy, but writers often blur the 'medi' part and forget the silent-feeling second 'e' before 'ate'. Keeping medius (middle) in mind anchors the 'medi' and helps you resist writing 'intermediete' or doubling letters that do not belong.

How the word is built

• inter- (between)
• medi (middle, from Latin medius)
• -ate (adjective/noun suffix)