temper

English

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• tempre (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English temperen, from Old English *temprian, from Latin temperare (“to divide or proportion duly, mingle in due proportion, qualify, temper, regulate, rule, intransitive observe measure, be moderate or temperate”), from tempus (“time, fit season”); see temporal.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)

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• Rhymes: -ɛmpə(r)

Noun

temper (plural tempers)

1. A tendency to be of a certain type of mood.

   To have a good temper ; a bad temper.

   He has quite a (bad) temper when dealing with salespeople.

2. State of mind.
   • 1719- Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

     ...I must testify, from my experience, that a temper of peace, thankfulness, love, and affection, is much the more proper frame for prayer than that of terror and discomposure...

3. The heat treatment to which a metal or other material has been subjected; a material that has undergone a particular heat treatment.

Derived terms

• lose temper
• short temper
• short-tempered

Synonyms

• (Heat treatment): drop forge

Translations

tendency to be of a certain type of mood

Danish: temperament (da) n. Finnish: huono (fi) tuuli (fi), kiukku (fi), äkkipikaisuus (fi) French: caractère (fr) m.

German: Gereiztheit (de) f., Laune (de) f. Simplified Chinese: 脾气

state of mind

Danish: gemyt (da) n., natur (da) c., sind (da) n. Dutch: karakter (nl) n., gemoed (nl) n. Finnish: luonne (fi), mielenlaatu (fi), mieliala (fi)

French: tempérament (fr) m. Serbian: ћуд (sr) (ćud) f. Simplified Chinese: 心情, 心境

heat treatment

Dutch: uitharden (nl) Finnish: päästö (fi) French: trempe (fr) f.

German: Anlassen (de) n., Ausheizen (de) n. Simplified Chinese: 回火

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Portuguese: pavio-curto, tempero (Brazil)

Verb

temper (third-person singular simple present tempers, present participle tempering, simple past and past participle tempered)

1. To moderate or control.

   Temper your language around children.

2. To heat-treat a material, especially metal or chocolate.

   Next, temper Tempering is a heat treatment technique applied to metals, alloys, and glass to achieve greater toughness by increasing the strength of materials and/or ductility. Tempering is performed by a controlled reheating of the work piece to a temperature below its lower eutectic critical temperature..

3. To mix clay, plaster or mortar with water to obtain the proper consistency

Translations

to moderate or control

Dutch: matigen (nl) Finnish: hillitä (fi), lieventää (fi)

Simplified Chinese: 缓和 Spanish: templar (es)

to heat-treat

Bosnian: prekaliti (bs) Finnish: päästää (fi), lämpökäsitellä (fi)

Simplified Chinese: 回火, 淬硬 Spanish: templar (es)

to mix

Simplified Chinese: 揉和

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Portuguese: moderar, temperar

External links

• temper in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• temper in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911