Dictionary

tempura en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /tɛmˈpu.ɹə/ (US)
• /tɛmˈpɚ.ə/ (US)
• /ˈtɛmpʊɹə/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 天(てん)麩(ぷ)羅(ら) (tenpura), from Portuguese, ultimately from Latin. Different dictionaries link two different original terms: * Portuguese tempero (“seasoning”) or tempera (“he/she/it seasons; season!”), third-person present singular or imperative tense of temperar (“to season, to temper”), from Latin temperare (“to mix, to temper”). * Portuguese têmpora (“Ember days”), from Latin tempora, plural of tempus (“time; period”). When Portuguese explorers (mostly Jesuit missionaries) arrived in Japan, they abstained from eating beef, pork, and poultry during the Ember days, a Catholic series of holidays. Instead, they ate fried vegetables and fish. This was the first contact of the Japanese with fried food, and since then they began associating the Portuguese word têmpora (which they pronounced tenpura) with such food.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) A Japanese dish made by deep-frying vegetables, seafood, or other foods in a light batter.
   • At last you spot a tempura stand. Not quite what you had in mind, but it'll do. Four pounds for tempura and noodles. Hunger. Yes. 2009, Tim Thornton, The Alternative Hero, Random House, →ISBN, page 4:
   • The Chicken Big Mac is similar to its beefy sibling; however, it replaces the two burgers with two tempura chicken patties. 2024 October 3, Jordan Valinsky, “McDonald’s is finally selling the Chicken Big Mac in the US”, in CNN:

Forms

Hypernyms

fritter

Translations (37)

vi tempura (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · yue 天麩羅 /天麸罗 (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · hi तेंपुरा (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ru те́мпура (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · fi tempura (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ms tempura (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ko 덴푸라 (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · cmn 甜不辣 (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · cmn 天富羅 /天富罗 (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · eo tempuro (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ja 天麩羅 (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ja 天ぷら (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · pt tempurá (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · vi thiên phụ la (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · it tempura (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · vi thiên phu la (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · el τεμπούρα (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · uk те́мпура (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ar تِيمْبُورَا (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · pt tempura (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · be тэ́мпура (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · de Tempura (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · es tempura (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · he טַמְפּוּרָה (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · bg те́мпура (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · th เท็มปุระ (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ko 덴뿌라 (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · cmn 天婦羅 /天妇罗 (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · cmn 天麩羅 /天麸罗 (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · pl tempura (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ja テンプラ (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ru тэ́мпура (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · mr तेम्पुरा (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · fr tempura (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · yue 天婦羅 /天妇罗 (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · fa تمپورا (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter) · ne तरुवा (dish made by deep-frying food in a light batter)

wikipedia: Ember days · wikipedia: ja:松村明 · wikipedia: Daijisen · wikidata: Q328709 · wikipedia: Daijirin