temper en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /ˈtɛmpə/ (UK)
- /ˈtɛmpɚ/ (US)
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.
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) A general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting.
[…] when she smiled, the Sweetness of her Temper diffused that Glory over her Countenance, which no Regularity of Features can give.
1749, Henry Fielding, chapter 2, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book IV, page 141:to have a good, bad, or calm temper
[…] Amy smiled without bitterness, for she possessed a happy temper and hopeful spirit.
1868–1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, chapter 26, in Little Women: […], (please specify |part=1 or 2), Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC:I am of a cautious temper, and unwilling to risk my happiness in a hurry.
1814 May 9, [Jane Austen], chapter IV, in Mansfield Park: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:[…] it appeared as if to be alone in the great house of his fathers suited his temper.
1928, Virginia Woolf, chapter 2, in Orlando: A Biography, London: The Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished as Orlando: A Biography (eBook no. 0200331h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, July 2015:A noble temper dost thou show in this;
c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:And it was peculiar in their Temper, that they were fonder of what they could get by Rapine or Stealth at a greater diſtance, than much better Food provided for them at home.
1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Author’s Great Love of His Native Country. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume II, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part IV (A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms), page 262:
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(countable, uncountable) State of mind; mood.
‘You should be careful not to irritate her, James. Her temper has been soured, remember, and ought not to be tried.’
1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 29, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:Remember with what mild / And gracious temper he both heard and judg’d / Without wrauth or reviling;
1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 1046-1048:She bowed to him, to put him in a good temper.
1950, Nevil Shute, chapter 3, in A Town Like Alice, London: Heinemann, published 1952, page 94:[H]er temper was fluctuating; joy for a few instants shone in her eyes, but it continually gave place to distraction and reverie.
1816 June – 1817 April/May (date written), [Mary Shelley], chapter V, in Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. […], volume III, London: […] [Macdonald and Son] for Lackington, Hughes, Harding, Mavor, & Jones, published 1 January 1818, →OCLC:[…] I must testify from my Experience, that a Temper of Peace, Thankfulness, Love and Affection, is much more the proper Frame for Prayer than that of Terror and Discomposure;
1719 May 6 (Gregorian calendar), [Daniel Defoe], The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, […], London: […] W[illiam] Taylor […], →OCLC, page 193:
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(countable, uncountable) A tendency to become angry.
‘What a temper you’ve got, Wormold.’ ‘I’m sorry. Drink takes me that way.’
1958, Graham Greene, chapter 5, in Our Man in Havana, Penguin, published 1969:He has quite a temper when dealing with salespeople.
His criticism of Inés makes him bristle. Nonetheless, he holds his temper in check.
2013, J. M. Coetzee, chapter 28, in The Childhood of Jesus, London: Harvill Secker, page 251:“I guess you’ve got a spice of temper,” commented Mr. Harrison, surveying the flushed cheeks and indignant eyes opposite him.
1909, Lucy Maud Montgomery, chapter 3, in Anne of Avonlea:Mind your hasty temper!
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(countable, uncountable) Anger; a fit of anger.
an outburst of temper
[…] she banged the door as she left as though in temper and walked to her car.
1999, Colm Tóibín, chapter 4, in The Blackwater Lightship, New York: Scribner, page 110:When I heard about it I got myself into a terrible temper.
Jill suddenly flew into a temper (which is quite a likely thing to happen if you have been interrupted in a cry).
1953, C. S. Lewis, chapter 1, in The Silver Chair, London: Geoffrey Bles, published 1965:Hortense remained for several days in a condition of sullen anger—she was a cloud lit up by occasional unaccountable flashes of temper.
1919, Henry Blake Fuller, chapter 28, in Bertram Cope’s Year:
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(countable, uncountable) Calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure.
“And I think, madam,” said the Lord Keeper, losing his accustomed temper and patience, “that if you had nothing better to tell us, you had better have kept this family secret to yourself also.”
1819, Jedediah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter XXII, in Tales of My Landlord, Third Series. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:[H]er temper was rarely ruffled, and, if we might judge by her appearance, she was always happy.
1857, Anthony Trollope, “Barchester by Moonlight”, in Barchester Towers. […], volume I, London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans, & Roberts, →OCLC, page 288:Reſtore your ſelues, vnto your temper, Fathers; / And, vvithout perturbation, heare me ſpeake: […]
1611, Ben[jamin] Jonson, Catiline His Conspiracy, London: […] [William Stansby?] for Walter Burre, →OCLC, Act IIII:Teach me like thee, in various Nature wiſe, / To fall with Dignity, with Temper riſe; [...]
1734, [Alexander Pope], An Essay on Man. […], epistle IV, London: […] J[ohn] Wilford, […], →OCLC, page 79, lines 372–373:Afore we got to the shanty Colonel Applegate stuck his head out of the door. His temper had been getting raggeder all the time, and the sousing he got when he fell overboard had just about ripped what was left of it to ravellings.
1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:to keep one's temper; to lose one's temper; to recover one's temper
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(countable, obsolete, uncountable) Constitution of body; the mixture or relative proportion of the four humours: blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy.
[…] it is hard to say, whether [Christ’s] pain was more shamefull, or his shame more painfull unto him: the exquisiteness of his bodily temper, increasing the exquisiteness of his torment, and the ingenuity of his Soul, adding to his sensibleness of the indignities and affronts offered until him.
1650, Thomas Fuller, A Pisgah-Sight of Palestine and the Confines Thereof, London: John Williams, Book 3, Chapter 12, p. 345:
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(countable, uncountable) Middle state or course; mean; medium.
The perfect lawgiver is a just temper between the mere man of theory, who can see nothing but general principles, and the mere man of business, who can see nothing but particular circumstances.
1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC, page 86:
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(countable, uncountable) The state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; due mixture of different qualities.
the temper of mortar
- (countable, uncountable) The heat treatment to which a metal or other material has been subjected; a material that has undergone a particular heat treatment.
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(countable, uncountable) The state of a metal or other substance, especially as to its hardness, produced by some process of heating or cooling.
the temper of iron or steel
Between two blades, which bears the better temper: […] / I have perhaps some shallow spirit of judgement; / But in these nice sharp quillets of the law, / Good faith, I am no wiser than a daw.
1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv]:
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(countable, historical, qualifier:sugar manufacture, uncountable) Milk of lime, or other substance, employed in the process formerly used to clarify sugar.
1803, John Browne Cutting, “A Succinct History of Jamaica” in Robert Charles Dallas, The History of the Maroons, London: Longman and Rees, Volume 1, pp. xciv-xcv, All cane juice is liable to rapid fermentation. As soon, therefore, as the clarifier is filled, the fire is lighted, and the temper (white lime of Bristol) is stirred into it. The alkali of the lime having neutralized its superabundant acid, a part of it becomes the basis of the sugar.
- (countable, qualifier:pottery, uncountable) A non-plastic material, such as sand, added to clay to prevent shrinkage and cracking during drying or firing; tempering.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| tempers | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| tempre | alternative | lexicographic |
Coordinates
quenching (Heat treatment)
Deriveds
keep one's temper · tempersome · short-tempered · temper screw · temper of the times · temperish · out of temper · hot-tempered · even-tempered · temper foam · sweet-tempered · temper temper · good-tempered · lose one's temper · temperless · bad temper · ill-tempered · quick-tempered · short temper · bad-tempered · temper tantrum
Relateds
distemper · temperament · temperance · temperate · contemper
Synonyms
temperament (tendency of mood) · disposition (tendency of mood) · rage ((fit of) anger)
Translations (90)
pl opanowanie (calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure) · bg отгряване (heat treatment) · fr état d'esprit (state of mind) · pl usposobienie (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · pl umiarkowanie (calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure) · hu sodra (calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure) · bg характер (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · es temperamento (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · ca humor (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · ru нрав (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · ro temperament (state of mind) · cmn 脾氣 /脾气 (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · sh ћуд (state of mind) · it carattere (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · pl nastrój (state of mind) · az xasiyyət (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · hu temperamentum (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · ru темпера́мент (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · hy բնավորություն (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · az əhval-ruhiyyə (state of mind) · eo hardo (heat treatment) · ru настро́й (state of mind) · fi karkaisu (heat treatment) · ro dispoziție (state of mind) · bg нрав (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · de Laune (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · cy tymer (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · fi mieliala (state of mind) · cmn 心境 (state of mind) · pl temperament (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · es temple (calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure) · cmn 回火 (heat treatment) · da natur (state of mind) · fi päästäminen (heat treatment) · fr caractère (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · ro fire (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · gl temperamento (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · es revenido (heat treatment) · ca tremp (heat treatment) · fr tempérament (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · gl xenio (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · az qılıq (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · ro caracter (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · ru настрое́ние (state of mind) · pl humor (state of mind) · eo karaktero (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · pl odpuszczanie (heat treatment) · bg закаляване (heat treatment) · da sind (state of mind) · nl gemoed (state of mind) · de Gereiztheit (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · pl spokój (calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure) · es carácter (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · ro stare (state of mind) · gl tempero (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · pl charakter (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · hu higgadtság (calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure) · fi luonne (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · da gemyt (state of mind) · pt temperamento (state of mind) · bg настрое́ние (state of mind) · cmn 心情 (state of mind) · hu vérmérséklet (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · tl subo (heat treatment) · ru хара́ктер (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · it temperamento (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · pt têmpera (heat treatment) · fi luonteenlaatu (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · fi mielentila (state of mind) · he מֶזֶג (state of mind) · de Laune (state of mind) · da temperament (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · de Temperament (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · de Anlassen (heat treatment) · fi temperamentti (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · hu béketűrés (calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure) · fr revenu (heat treatment) · sv temperament (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · fi mielenlaatu (state of mind) · nl karakter (state of mind) · ro revenire (heat treatment) · pt temperamento (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · eo humoro (state of mind) · cjs қылық (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · de Ausheizen (heat treatment) · fr humeur (state of mind) · zu inhliziyo (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · hu kedv (state of mind) · fi tuuli (tendency to be of a certain type of mood) · nl uitharden (heat treatment)