What is a 'Melee Mage'?

They could learn from this game when it comes to sword and magic, and this should've been on Inquisition.

I would love to see this introduced in DA.  Something similar to a Mystic Archer found in Rift would be fantastic.

I when I hear melee mage I cringe, but I would think it's a mage that fights in close quarters and uses magic and a staff for offense/defense.  Like someone else mentioned, Hawk in the trailer from DA2.

I chose "A Mage that casts spells that focus on close-range" in the poll.

What I mean by a melee mage is an Avatar-style bender or Dr. Strange from the MCU, that also wields small weapons (magically generated or otherwise) to hit things with in close quarters. I typically think of a more rogue-like movement style b/c of magical enhancement to the body like upped speed or agility, or b/c of increased mobility via magic.

The occasional fireball is not out of the question, but it would have decreased range, and might even be changed into a flame burst or touch attack, due to the lack of a staff to focus magic through. Or the fireball's cost would just be increased in comparison to other mages, again due to the lack of traditional staff.

So, what term did you come up with, then?

Battle-mage conjures up images of (physical and magical) sword-wielding mages. The magic and the blade aren't synergized really, its just a mage that also has a sword and non-squishy armor. Like you said, a mage-fighter.

What I think of when I think "melee mage" is a mage that primarily uses magic for their melee. Hence choosing the "close quarters spells" option (and including self-enhancement spells in that list). Like a weapon and non-squishy armor is there, but its secondary. And the result is more of a mage-rogue b/c rogues are fast and agile and that's what the self-enhancements would result in to me.

Just saying, there is a difference in terms to me.

Like someone said before, Tempest is the current DA spec that's closest to what I think of when I think about how to start with a melee mage. Just take away stealth (maybe?), add in fade step, call them spells instead of using flasks, and add the rest of the spell schools like entropy, creation school auras, and other close quarters/single target/touch spells offensive spells and player targeted defensive spells. As for weapons, I'm partial to batons (b/c they remind me of a staff split in half, I'm weird, and also kind of a Bobbi Morse fan), but any melee weapon would work, really, be it dual-weild, one-handed, or even possibly two-handed. But the weapon is there to be integrated into the magic attacks more than anything.

Someone invent a Super-Secret BSN Language To Talk About Super-Secret Stuff...

Personally love the Knight Enchanter specialization. Love love love

MEA Power Vanguard basically.

Able to enter combat instantly? Check. (Charge)
Powerful "magic" enhanced attacks? Check. (Biotic Punch/Asari Sword)
AoE damage tools? Check. (Nova, Shockwave, Annihilation). 
Strong focus on control? Check.
Best defense is a good offense? Check. 

Knight enchanter focused too much on melee hits. Ideally the focus would shift a bit more to ability usage (like a Power Vanguard basically).

I think it depends on how you play and how you build your mage outside of the KE specialization. Now that I've seen it laid out like so, my KE actually does play quite similarly to the Vanguard

Able to enter combat instantly? Check. (Fade step: not as emphatic as Charge, but a good enough way to get right to the thick of it)
Powerful magic enhanced attacks? Check. (Spirit Blade)
AoE damage tools? Check. (Chain lightning, Immolate, Mark of the Rift)
Strong focus on control? Check. (Disruption field, Wall of Fire)
Best defense is a good offense? Check. 

And these only abilities from my current mage playthrough. You can be more storm, more winter heavy and get the same effect. 

I think if your Knight Enchanter focuses too much on melee hits, it might just be down to your playing style or a consequence of your abilities progression prior to choosing the specialization. My Knight Enchanter is very ability heavy or at least just as ability heavy as the vanguards I played in Mass Effect. Which shouldn't be that surprising considering they are sibling games

I really hated, loathed, even despised the knight enchanter from inquisition. I hated that they had to 'summon' a magical sword, rather than using real melee weaponry. I loved the origins take on the battlemage, using real weapons and armor, but it wasnt done very well in the end either.

What I envision when I think of a battlemage is someone who dons heavy armor and uses melee weapons (two handed or 1h, or even dual wield), and then uses magic to enhance melee combat. I think of things like encasing your weapon in elemental magic (fire, ice, lightning, etc.), energizing your armor for more defense or effects that retaliate at attackers (someone hits you with a melee attack and your armor fires back a lightning bolt for example), and beyond that having effects that surround the caster like a firestorm or frost nova to work against any enemies in melee range.

When I see the term "melee mage," in most games I assume it's a hybrid class that uses abilities from a pure mage class and a melee class, with perhaps a few unique skills/traits/abilities/what-have-you of their own.

What I would like to see when I see the term isn't necessarily that, though. I mean, I tend to play these types of classes regardless, but I would really like to see more unique-unto-themselves melee/magic classes, or at least more variety/unusual versions to the hybrids. Like a rogue that can use a spell to recall knives after throwing them (perhaps not unlike KoA chakrams), or a gunslinger using enchanted bullets that cast spells, or tank class that, rather than soaking up damage with armor/hp, uses some kind of illusory or time-related magic to trick or dodge.

I loved the heck out of Blue Mage when I used to play FFXI (way back before they un-capped Chains of Promathia...). Unique method of learning spells (no longer buying scrolls, but literally learning monster abilities by observing them in combat - which I LOVED doing - SO MUCH. I miss it, gosh). The DD spells were focused on close-range, high-damage, quick-cast, but with a smaller mana pool to work with. Interesting ability to "equip" spells and certain combinations gave certain passives. Also was the first class able to skill-chain alone (a task usually requiring at least 2 players and careful timing). This might be my favorite "melee mage" I've ever played.