Im-mē'di-ate, a.

a. [L. Lat. immediatus; prefix im, for in, and medius, middle, midst; It. immediato, Sp. immediato, Fr. immédiat.] 1. Not separated in respect to place by any thing intervening; proximate; close. You are the most immediate to our throne. Shak. 2. Not deferred by an interval of time; present; instant. “Assemble in immediate council.” Shak. Death . . . not yet inflicted as he feared By some immediate stroke. Milton. 3. Acting with nothing interposed or between, or without the intervention of another object as a cause, means, medium, or condition; producing its effect by direct agency; acting or cognized directly; as, an immediate cause. The immediate knowledge of the past is therefore impossible. Sir W. Hamilton.