a. [ Pref. bi- + medial. ] (Geom.) Applied to a line which is the sum of two lines commensurable only in power (as the side and diagonal of a square). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the branch of biotechnology that uses biological processes to overcome environmental problems. [ WordNet 1.6 ]

n. [ Cf. F. comédien. ] 1. An actor or player in comedy. “The famous comedian, Roscius.” Middleton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A writer of comedy. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The relation of freedom from the interventionof a medium; immediateness. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. immédiat. See In- not, and Mediate. ] 1. Not separated in respect to place by anything intervening; proximate; close; as, immediate contact. [ 1913 Webster ]

You are the most immediate to our throne. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Not deferred by an interval of time; present; instant. “Assemble we immediate council.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Death . . . not yet inflicted, as he feared,
By some immediate stroke. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Acting with nothing interposed or between, or without the intervention of another object as a cause, means, or agency; acting, perceived, or produced, directly; as, an immediate cause. [ 1913 Webster ]

The immediate knowledge of the past is therefore impossible. Sir. W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Immediate amputation (Surg.), an amputation performed within the first few hours after an injury, and before the the effects of the shock have passed away.

Syn. -- Proximate; close; direct; next. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. 1. In an immediate manner; without intervention of any other person or thing; proximately; directly; -- opposed to mediately; as, immediately contiguous. [ 1913 Webster ]

God's acceptance of it either immediately by himself, or mediately by the hands of the bishop. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Without interval of time; without delay; promptly; instantly; at once. [ 1913 Webster ]

And Jesus . . . touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. Matt. viii. 3. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. As soon as. Cf. Directly, 8, Note.

Syn. -- Directly; instantly; quickly; forthwith; straightway; presently. See Directly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or relations of being immediate in manner, place, or time; exemption from second or interventing causes. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Immediateness. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Infra + median. ] (Zoological Geog.) Of or pertaining to the interval or zone along the sea bottom, at the depth of between fifty and one hundred fathoms. E. Forbes. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Intermediate. ] Interposition; intervention. Derham. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. pl. [ NL., fr. L. intermedius intermedial. ] (Zool.) The middle pair of tail feathers, or middle rectrices. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. inter- + medial: cf. L. intermedius. ] Lying between; intervening; intermediate. “Intermedial colors.” Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Intermediate. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. intermédiaire. ] Lying, coming, or done, between; intermediate; as, an intermediary project. [ 1913 Webster ]

Intermediary amputation (Surg.), an amputation for injury, performed after inflammation has set in. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Intermediaries One who, or that which, is intermediate; an interagent; a go-between; a mediator. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Pref. inter- + mediate: cf. F. intermédiat. ] 1. Lying or being in the middle place or degree, or between two extremes; coming or done between; intervening; interposed; interjacent; as, an intermediate space or time; intermediate colors. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: Of or pertaining to an intermediate school; as, intermediate education. [ PJC ]

Intermediate state (Theol.), the state or condition of the soul between the death and the resurrection of the body. --
Intermediate terms (Math.), the terms of a progression or series between the first and the last (which are called the extremes); the means. --
Intermediate tie. (Arch.) Same as Intertie. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To come between; to intervene; to interpose. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A person who intermediates between others, especially in negotiations; an intermediary; a mediator. [ PJC ]

2. Something that is intermediate. [ PJC ]

3. Specifically: (Chem.) A compound which is produced in the course of a chemical synthesis, which is not itself the final product, but is used in further reactions which produce the final product; also called synthetic intermediate, intermediate compound or intermediate product; -- contrasted to starting material and end product or final product. There may be many different intermediates between the starting material and end product in the course of a complex synthesis; as, many industrial chemicals are produced primarily to be used as intermediates in other syntheses. The term has the same meaning with respect to intermediate compounds produced in a biosynthetic pathway in living organisms. [ PJC ]

adv. In an intermediate manner; by way of intervention. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A school having grades at a level between the lower primary grades and the upper secondary grades, being variously grades 4 through 6, or grades 7 through 9, etc. [ PJC ]

n. The act of coming between; intervention; mediation; interposition. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A mediator. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. irremediabilis: cf. F. irrémédiable. See In- not, and Remediable. ] Not to be remedied, corrected, or redressed; incurable; as, an irremediable disease or evil. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being irremediable. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a manner, or to a degree, that precludes remedy, cure, or correction. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ n.; pl. Mediae [ NL., fr. L. medius middle. ] 1. (Phonetics) One of the sonant mutes β, δ, γ (b, d, g), in Greek, or of their equivalents in other languages, so named as intermediate between the tenues, π, τ, κ (p, t, k), and the aspiratae (aspirates) φ, θ, χ (ph or f, th, ch). Also called middle mute, or medial, and sometimes soft mute. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. sing. & pl., 1. The latinic plural form of medium, sometimes used as a singular noun with the same meaning as medium; as, (Computers) place your installation media into the device which will read it; (Microbiology) the tuberculosis bacterium will only grow in a special media. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

2. The public institutions that report the news, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, and television, collectively; the news media; as, the media were obsessed with Monica Lewinsky for months. [ PJC ]

n. The state or quality of being mediate. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. medius middle + aevum age. See Middle, and Age. ] Of or relating to the Middle Ages; as, mediaeval architecture. [ Written also medieval. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The method or spirit of the Middle Ages; devotion to the institutions and practices of the Middle Ages; a survival from the Middle Ages. [ Written also medievalism. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who has a taste for, or is versed in, the history of the Middle Ages; one in sympathy with the spirit or forms of the Middle Ages. [ Written also medievalist. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In the manner of the Middle Ages; in accordance with mediaevalism. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. The people who lived in the Middle Ages. Ruskin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. medialis, fr. medius middle: cf. F. médial. See Middle. ] Of or pertaining to a mean or average; mean; as, medial alligation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Phonetics) See 2d Media. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Sp. media luna half-moon. ] (Zool.) See Half-moon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. medianus, fr. medius middle. See Medial. ] 1. Being in the middle; running through the middle; as, a median groove. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Situated in the middle; lying in a plane dividing a bilateral animal into right and left halves; -- said of unpaired organs and parts; as, median coverts. [ 1913 Webster ]

Median line. (a) (Anat.) Any line in the mesial plane; specif., either of the lines in which the mesial plane meets the surface of the body. (b) (Geom.) The line drawn from an angle of a triangle to the middle of the opposite side; any line having the nature of a diameter. --
Median plane (Anat.), the mesial plane. --
Median point (Geom.), the point where the three median lines of a triangle mutually intersect. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Geom.) A median line or point. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. medians, p. p. of mediare to halve: cf. It. mediante, F. médiante. ] (Mus.) The third above the keynote; -- so called because it divides the interval between the tonic and dominant into two thirds. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to a mediastinum. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ ‖ } n. [ NL. mediastinum, fr. L. medius middle; cf. mediastinus helper, a menial servant, LL. mediastinus equiv. to medius: cf F. médiastin. ] (Anat.) A partition; a septum; specifically, the folds of the pleura (and the space included between them) which divide the thorax into a right and left cavity. The space included between these folds of the pleura, called the mediastinal space, contains the heart and gives passage to the esophagus and great blood vessels. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. mediatus, p. p. of mediare, v. t., to halve, v. i., to be in the middle. See Mid, and cf. Moiety. ] 1. Being between the two extremes; middle; interposed; intervening; intermediate. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Acting by means, or by an intervening cause or instrument; not direct or immediate; acting or suffering through an intervening agent or condition. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Gained or effected by a medium or condition. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

An act of mediate knowledge is complex. Sir W. Hamilton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Mediated p. pr. & vb. n. Mediating. ] [ LL. mediatus, p. p. of mediare to mediate. See Mediate, a. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To be in the middle, or between two; to intervene. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To interpose between parties, as the equal friend of each, esp. for the purpose of effecting a reconciliation or agreement; as, to mediate between nations. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To effect by mediation or interposition; to bring about as a mediator, instrument, or means; as, to mediate a peace. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To divide into two equal parts. [ R. ] Holder. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a mediate manner; by a secondary cause or agent; not directly or primarily; by means; -- opposed to immediately. [ 1913 Webster ]

God worketh all things amongst us mediately. Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

The king grants a manor to A, and A grants a portion of it to B. In this case. B holds his lands immediately of A, but mediately of the king. Blakstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being mediate. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. mediacioun, F. médiation. See Mediate, a. ] 1. The act of mediating; action or relation of anything interposed; action as a necessary condition, means, or instrument; interposition; intervention. [ 1913 Webster ]

The soul [ acts ] by the mediation of these passions. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, specifically, agency between parties at variance, with a view to reconcile them; entreaty for another; intercession. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Pertaining to mediation; used in mediation; as, mediative efforts. Beaconsfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. médiatisation. ] The act of mediatizing. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mediatized p. pr. & vb. n. Mediatizing. ] [ Cf. F. médiatiser. ] To cause to act through an agent or to hold a subordinate position; to annex; -- specifically applied to the annexation during the former German empire of a smaller German state to a larger, while allowing it a nominal sovereignty, and its prince his rank. [ 1913 Webster ]

The misfortune of being a mediatized prince. Beaconsfield. [ 1913 Webster ]