immédiat

Immédiat is a French adjective that designates what happens without delay or intermediary, or what is directly linked to the present moment. It may refer to sequences, effects, knowledge, or perception that occur without mediation. The term is also used in philosophy to distinguish immediate knowledge or perception from mediated or inferred knowledge. In spatial terms, it can describe something that is close or directly adjacent.

Etymology and usage context: immédiat comes from Old French immediat, itself from Latin immediatus, meaning not mediated or unmediated. The form reflects gender and number: masculin singulier immédiat, féminin singulier immédiate; plural forms immédiats (masc.) and immédiates (fem.). The adverbial form is immédiatement, used to express doing something without delay.

Common senses and collocations: immediate action or reaction (action immédiate, réaction immédiate), immediate effect (effet immédiat), immediate knowledge or perception (connaissance immédiate, perception immédiate), and immediate proximity (proche, immédiat spatialement). In everyday language, it is often contrasted with différé (deferred) or médié (mediated) to stress lack of mediation or delay.

Usage notes: immédiat is versatile across domains such as everyday speech, law, medicine, and philosophy. In medical or practical contexts, it commonly signals urgent or prompt response, while in epistemology or phenomenology it emphasizes direct, not inferential, certainty.

See also: immediacy, immédiatement (adverb), médiat and médiation (contrastive notions regarding mediation).