temper
UK /ˈtɛmpə/ · US /ˈtɛmpɚ/ noun, verb
Forms tempers tempering tempered tempre
- noun A general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting. “to have a good, bad, or calm temper”
- noun State of mind; mood.
- noun A tendency to become angry. “Mind your hasty temper!”
- noun Anger; a fit of anger. “an outburst of temper”
- noun Calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure.
- noun (obsolete) Constitution of body; the mixture or relative proportion of the four humours: blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy.
- noun Middle state or course; mean; medium.
- noun The state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; due mixture of different qualities. “the temper of mortar”
- verb To moderate or control. “Temper your language around children.”
- verb To strengthen or toughen a material, especially metal, by heat treatment; anneal.
- verb (cooking) To adjust the temperature of an ingredient (e.g. eggs or chocolate) gradually so that it remains smooth and pleasing.
- verb To sauté spices in ghee or oil to release essential oils for flavouring a dish in South Asian cuisine.
- verb To mix clay, plaster or mortar with water to obtain the proper consistency.
- verb (music) To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual scale, or to that in actual use.
- verb (obsolete, Latinism) To govern; to manage.
- verb (archaic) To combine in due proportions; to constitute; to compose.
Synonyms
disposition temperament rage season pique irritation mood humor humour biliousness irritability peevishness pettishness snappishness surliness toughness anneal normalize harden mollify chasten moderate
Etymology
From Middle English temperen, tempren, from Old English ġetemprian, temprian, borrowed from Latin temperō (“(transitive) to divide or proportion duly, to moderate, to regulate; (intransitive) to be moderate, temperate”), from tempus (“time, fit season”). Compare also French tempérer. Doublet of tamper. See temporal.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To mingle in due proportion; to prepare by combining; to modify, as by adding some new element; to qualify, as by an ingredient; hence, to soften; to mollify; to assuage; to soothe; to calm.
- verb To fit together; to adjust; to accomodate.
- noun The state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; due mixture of different qualities; just combination; as, the temper of mortar.
- noun Constitution of body; temperament; in old writers, the mixture or relative proportion of the four humors, blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy.
Etymology [AS. temprian or OF. temper, F. tempérer, and (in sense 3) temper, L. temperare, akin to tempus time. Cf. Temporal, Distemper, Tamper.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “temper”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details