middleman

C2+ Topic:Word Formation & Derivatives

US /ˈmɪdəlˌmæn/ UK /ˈmɪdəlˌmæn/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
an intermediary who trades between producer and consumer

Buying direct lets farmers cut out the middleman.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an intermediary who trades... intermediary broker agentgo-betweendealer distributor mediator

Word family

Related forms middle mid intermediary

Etymology

A compound of middle (Old English middel, from Proto-Germanic *midjila-, from the root of mid) + man (Old English mann).

middel Old English mann Old English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Word Formation & Derivatives General Vocabulary

External links

# middleman

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈmɪdəlˌmæn/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈmɪdəlˌmæn/

## Meanings
1. an intermediary who trades between producer and consumer

## Examples
- Buying direct lets farmers cut out the middleman.

## Synonyms
- intermediary
- broker
- agent
- go-between
- dealer
- distributor
- mediator

## Related Forms
- middle
- mid
- intermediary

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: middel
- Root: mann

## Etymology
A compound of middle (Old English middel, from Proto-Germanic *midjila-, from the root of mid) + man (Old English mann).

## AI Etymology
Middleman is a compound of middle (Old English middel, from Proto-Germanic *midjila-, from the root of mid) + man (Old English mann). The etymological trail includes Old English middel and Old English mann. As a noun, middleman means an intermediary who trades between producer and consumer. The same family is visible in related forms such as middle, mid, and intermediary. Morphologically, the word is built from the elements named in its history, so the modern form preserves a visible compound, prefix, or suffix structure.

## Topics
- Word Formation & Derivatives
- General Vocabulary

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