temperate en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˈtɛmpəɹət/
- (US) audio
Etymology
The adjective is first attested in 1380, in Middle English, the verb in 1540; borrowed from Latin temperātus, perfect passive participle of temperō (“to moderate, forbear, combine properly”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix). See temper. Displaced native Old English ġemetegod.
Meanings
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Moderate; not excessive.
She is not hot, but temperate as the morn.
c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:"Even in his most temperate moments he is constantly felling people with a hunting-crop."
1936, Norman Lindsay, The Flyaway Highway, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, page 19:He has a temperate demeanour
That sober freedom out of which there springs Our loyal passion for our temperate kings.
1855, Alfred Tennyson, “(please specify the page)”, in Maud, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:temperate heat
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Moderate; not excessive. ▸ Specifically, moderate in temperature.
These trees can only grow in temperate climates.
Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.
1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:
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Moderate; not excessive. ▸ Moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions
August 9, 1768, Benjamin Franklin, To John Alleyne, Esq. On Early Marriages Be sober and temperate, and you will be healthy.
temperate in eating and drinking.
I am a temperate man and have made it a rule not to drink before luncheon. But I was so much ashamed of my first feeling about Gorman that I thought it well to break my rule. […] I gave my vote for whisky and soda as the more thorough-going drink of the two. A cocktail is seldom more than a mouthful.
1915, G[eorge] A. Birmingham [pseudonym; James Owen Hannay], chapter I, in Gossamer, New York, N.Y.: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC, pages 14–15:
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Proceeding from temperance.
The temperate sleeps, and spirits light as air.
1733–1737, Alexander Pope, [Imitations of Horace], London: […] R[obert] Dodsley [et al.]:
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Dependent on life in a temperate climate.
temperate fishes
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most temperate | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more temperate | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Antonyms
volatile · excitable · tempestuous · wild · passionate · fanciful
Deriveds
untemperate · orotemperate · temperate zone · temperately · pseudotemperate · temperate rainforest · subtemperate · supratemperate · nontemperate · palaeotemperate · paleotemperate · intemperate · mesotemperate · temperateness
Hypernyms
Hyponyms
Relateds
serious · temper · stoic · organized · restrained · professional · orderly · stoical · temperature · patient
Synonyms
imperturbable · reasonous · abstemious · proper · temperate · tempered · mellow · regular · mellow · unexcessive · collected · middle of the road · moderate · unexcessive · unexcitable · unperturbed · measured · nonextreme · mellow · moderate · temperate · calm · unstirred · unpassionate · sober · temperate · nonexcessive · middle of the road · composed · unextreme · mild · unimpassioned · dispassionate · reasonous · staid · tempered · mellow · unsusceptible · cool · unruffled · unexcited · nonfanatic · steady · reasonable · mild · abstinent · temperate · reasonable · inexcitable · unexcessive · reasonous · measured · nonexcessive · undisturbed · continent · sober · abstemious · tempered · nonextreme · sober · abstentious · mild · mild · spareful · reasonable · proper · sedate · nonfanatic · nonfanatic · proper · nonexcessive · temperate · abstentious · sober · continent · nonextreme · moderate · measured · middle of the road · unextreme · sober · unextreme
Translations (67)
fr tempéré (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · ang ġemetegod (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · izh lauhkia (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · mk одмерен (not marked with passion) · mk умерен (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · cs umírněný (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · sv måttfull (proceeding from temperance) · ru уме́ренный (proceeding from temperance) · ru уме́ренный (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · fi hillitty (not marked with passion) · pt ameno (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · ca temperat (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · es templado (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · ru возде́ржанный (not marked with passion) · fi kohtuullinen (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · ga séimh (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · fi kohtuullinen (not marked with passion) · cmn 溫和的 /温和的 (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · cs zdrženlivý (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · fi tyyni (proceeding from temperance) · hu mérsékelt (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · fa معتدل (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · es temperado (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · ang ġemetegod (not marked with passion) · bg въздържан (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · ru возде́ржанный (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · pt temperado (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · ru уме́ренный (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · it temperato (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · ko 온화한 (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · fi maltillinen (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · la modicus (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · de gemäßigt (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · ca temperat (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · ko 온난한 (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · fi lauhkea (not marked with passion) · mk одмерен (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · cs střídmý (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · fi lauhkea (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · fi kohtuullinen (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · ko 절제하는 (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · pt temperado (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · ru сде́ржанный (not marked with passion) · sv måttfull (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · mk умерен (not marked with passion) · ca temperat (not marked with passion) · hu higgadt (not marked with passion) · ka ზომიერი (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · ru уме́ренный (not marked with passion) · fi hillitty (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · cs mírný (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · mi hātai (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · bg умерен (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · hi शीतोष्ण (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · tr perhizkâr (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · es ameno (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · hu mértéktartó (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · pt comedido (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · ru сде́ржанный (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · fi rauhaisa (proceeding from temperance) · cs zdrženlivý (not marked with passion) · mk умерен (proceeding from temperance) · mk умерен (moderate; not excessive heat, climate) · bg сдържан (not marked with passion) · de zurückhaltend (not marked with passion) · ang ġemetegod (moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions) · pt temperado (not marked with passion)