Brokered

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Acted as an intermediary to arrange or negotiate an agreement or transaction
2. Served as a mediator to facilitate or bring about a business deal or understanding
3. Negotiated terms and helped settle an agreement between parties, typically involving a sale or contract

Etymology: The verb "to broker" sounds like a modern business term, but its root meaning is closer to "use" or "trade" than to any kind of middleman. The noun came into Middle English from Anglo-Norman "brocour", meaning a small trader, and that word traces back to Old Dutch "brokere", a manager who determined how goods were used and traded. Behind that lies a Germanic word for "use, custom" that is also the source of English "brook" in its older sense of "to put up with" or "to make use of." The verb itself grew from the noun, and the trade it names was once a fairly lowly occupation. Brokers in medieval England dealt in odds and ends, and the Anglo-Norman "abroker" shows the verb form was already in use, meaning to act as a broker. Over time the word moved from petty dealing toward arranging deals between others, which is the sense that "brokered" carries today when someone has negotiated terms between two parties.

Synonyms: negotiated, mediated, facilitated