English
intermediae
Intermediae comes from Latin intermedius ‘intermediate’, from medius ‘in the middle’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *me ‘near, by, with’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*me1‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyos2‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðios2‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmedius3‘in the middle’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintermedius4‘intermediate’
- Englishtodayintermediae4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos
- 2 Wiktionary, Latin medius
- 3 Wiktionary, Latin intermedius
- 4 Wiktionary, English intermediae
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*meWiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos‘near, by, with’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*médʰyosWiktionary, Latin medius‘between’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*meðiosWiktionary, Latin medius‘middle’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmediusWiktionary, Latin intermedius‘in the middle’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEintermediusWiktionary, English intermediae‘intermediate’
- EnglishtodayintermediaeWiktionary, English intermediae
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos ‘between’
mid, media, midst, maidan, meso, 26 more
through Proto-Italic *meðios ‘middle’
through Latin medius ‘in the middle’
mean, medium, medal, median, demi, mediation, milieu, mediator, moiety, medial, mezzanine, mediate, medulla, moyen, medio, 18 more
Today it means
noun The middle pair of tail feathers, or middle rectrices.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “intermediae”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos, Latin medius, Latin intermedius. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *me / intermediae