mittelbarem

Mittelbarem is not a separate lexical word, but a grammatical form of the German adjective mittelbar, which means indirect or mediated. The term is used to describe something that occurs through an intermediary rather than directly. In everyday language, mittelbar contrasts with unmittelbar, the latter meaning direct or immediate.

Grammatical use and forms

Mittelbar is declined like a typical German adjective. The form mittelbarem appears in the dative singular masculine or neuter when the noun is not accompanied by a determiner (strong declension). For example: mit mittelbarem Beweis (with indirect proof) or mit mittelbarem Weg (via an indirect path). When a determiner is present, other forms are used, such as dem mittelbaren Beweis or einem mittelbaren Beweis. In the plural or with different cases, other endings apply (e.g., mittelbaren Beweisen in the plural, or dem mittelbaren Beweis in the singular with definite article).

Common contexts

In law and philosophy, mittelbar is frequently used to talk about indirect causes, indirect evidence, indirect consequences, or mediated relationships, as opposed to direktes oder unmittelbares (direct) evidence, Ursachen, oder Folgen. In linguistics and semantics, it may describe a relation that is not directly between two elements but mediated through another factor.

Etymology and relation to related terms

Mittelbar derives from mittel (means, intermediary) plus bar (a suffix forming adjectives meaning “able” or “capable of” in the sense of “by means of”). It is closely related to unmittelbar (unmittelbar) and is part of a broader set of terms describing direct versus indirect relationships or processes.

See also

Unmittelbar, direkter vs. indirekter Beweis, indirekte Folge, mittelbare Ursache.