Etymograph

English

immediate

Immediate comes from Old French immediat, from Late Latin immediātus ‘without anything in between’, from in- + mediātus, from mediō ‘to be in the middle’.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmediō1‘to halve, be in the middle’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmediātus1‘halved; in the middle’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEimmediātus1‘without anything in between’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400immediat1
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602immediate1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English immediate
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “You are the most immediate to our throne,”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmediōWiktionary, English immediate‘to halve, be in the middle’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmediātusWiktionary, English immediate‘halved; in the middle’
  3. Late Latinc. 200–600 CEimmediātusWiktionary, English immediate‘without anything in between’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400immediatWiktionary, English immediate
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602immediateWiktionary, English immediate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “You are the most immediate to our throne,”

Every English word from Latin mediō

Today it means

adj Happening right away, instantly, with no delay.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “immediate”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Latin mediō / immediate

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