intermediate vs middling

intermediate

noun
  • Anything in an intermediate position. 

  • Any substance formed as part of a series of chemical reactions that is not the end-product. 

  • An intermediary. 

verb
  • To mediate, to be an intermediate. 

  • To arrange, in the manner of a broker. 

adj
  • Being between two extremes, or in the middle of a range. 

middling

noun
  • Something of intermediate or average size, position, or quality. 

  • Preceded by the: people of moderate means; members of the middle class. 

adj
  • In fairly good health. 

  • Of intermediate or average size, position, or quality; mediocre. 

adv
  • Fairly, moderately, somewhat. 

  • Not too badly, with modest success. 

How often have the words intermediate and middling occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )