What is a gender-neutral way of saying "middle-man"?

Question

As per the title, I'm looking for an alternative phrasing for "middle-man" without the gender connotations.

Why? Are you also looking for an alternative phrasing for woman? — deadrat, May 03 '16 at 20:33
@deadrat, no, I'm talking about an intermediary which is an object rather than a person so want to avoid using gender. — Matt, May 04 '16 at 07:05
Ah, I misunderstood. Without knowing the context in which this object operates, it's hard to come up with the right substitute. — deadrat, May 04 '16 at 07:25
The terms negotiator and mediator could also work, I guess. — Mari-Lou A, May 04 '16 at 07:40
I don't know how this could have been more clear, I cannot understand the reason for closure. They want an alternate expression without the word man. — neuronet, May 23 '18 at 16:06

score 11 · Accepted Answer · answered May 03 '16 at 20:21

11

Middleperson:

A middleman or middlewoman.

(Wiktionary)

Intermediary:

(Law) a person who acts as a mediator or agent between parties

(Collins)

answered May 03 '16 at 20:21

1

I think Collins misses a bit by pegging "intermediary" as a legal term. The Webster's definition at the same link gives "an intermediate agent or agency; a go-between or mediator" without narrowing that definition's scope. I see it used that way in literature and occasionally in general speech. – PellMel May 03 '16 at 20:32
1

This is only one definition of middleman. The other is a distributor of goods, the person who buys from producers or wholesalers and sells to retailers or individuals. – deadrat May 03 '16 at 20:32
1

@deadrat while intermediary isn't perhaps in common use for "node in the distribution chain," it could certainly be used that way. – phoog May 03 '16 at 20:43
1

@phoog Anything could happen. A brief time in the google leads me to believe that an intermediary has a relationship between two parties and is generally known by both, even if the parties don't know each other. There can be several successive middlemen in a commercial chain, and most if not all are generally unknown to those on the ends. In fact, that's the rap on middlemen -- they're anonymous injectors of superfluous costs – deadrat May 03 '16 at 21:42

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

2

intermediate

A person who acts between others; intermediary; mediator.

Random House Kennerman Webster's College Dictionary

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

1

answered May 04 '16 at 05:19

Elian

43,007

score -2 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 22 '16 at 02:30

For one of the two senses of the term, 'intermediary' seems like a perfectly cromulent word. For the other, someone who is engaged in the business of buying at one place and selling at another, 'reseller' is the best that I can come up with. That word doesn't really capture the historical connotations of 'middleman minorities', for example. I am unsure of what might be an appropriate substitute.

What is a gender-neutral way of saying "middle-man"?

3 Answers3