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Temper

//ˈtɛmpɚ// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun

1
A general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting. countable, uncountable
"to have a good, bad, or calm temper"
2
a disposition to exhibit uncontrolled anger wordnet
3
State of mind; mood. countable, uncountable
"Remember with what mild / And gracious temper he both heard and judg’d / Without wrauth or reviling;"
4
the elasticity and hardness of a metal object; its ability to absorb considerable energy before cracking wordnet
5
A tendency to become angry. countable, uncountable
"to have a hasty temper"

Show 11 more definitions

6
a sudden outburst of anger wordnet
7
Anger; a fit of anger. countable, uncountable
"an outburst of temper"
8
a characteristic (habitual or relatively temporary) state of feeling wordnet
9
Calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure. countable, uncountable
"to keep one's temper; to lose one's temper; to recover one's temper"
10
Constitution of body; the mixture or relative proportion of the four humours: blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"[…] 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."
11
Middle state or course; mean; medium. countable, uncountable
"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."
12
The state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; due mixture of different qualities. countable, uncountable
"the temper of mortar"
13
The heat treatment to which a metal or other material has been subjected; a material that has undergone a particular heat treatment. countable, uncountable
14
The state of a metal or other substance, especially as to its hardness, produced by some process of heating or cooling. countable, uncountable
"the temper of iron or steel"
15
Milk of lime, or other substance, employed in the process formerly used to clarify sugar. countable, historical, uncountable
"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."
16
A non-plastic material, such as sand, added to clay to prevent shrinkage and cracking during drying or firing; tempering. countable, uncountable

Verb

1
To moderate or control.
"Temper your language around children."
2
change by restraining or moderating wordnet
3
To strengthen or toughen a material, especially metal, by heat treatment; anneal.
"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."
4
make more temperate, acceptable, or suitable by adding something else wordnet
5
To adjust the temperature of an ingredient (e.g. eggs or chocolate) gradually so that it remains smooth and pleasing.

Show 10 more definitions

6
adjust the pitch (of pianos) wordnet
7
To sauté spices in ghee or oil to release essential oils for flavouring a dish in South Asian cuisine.
8
harden by reheating and cooling in oil wordnet
9
To mix clay, plaster or mortar with water to obtain the proper consistency.
10
bring to a desired consistency, texture, or hardness by a process of gradually heating and cooling wordnet
11
To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual scale, or to that in actual use.
12
To govern; to manage. Latinism, obsolete
"With which the damned ghosts he governeth, / And furies rules, and Tartare tempereth."
13
To combine in due proportions; to constitute; to compose. archaic
"You fools! I and my fellows / Are ministers of fate: the elements / Of whom your swords are temper'd may as well / Wound the loud winds, or with bemock'd-at stabs / Kill the still-closing waters, as diminish / One dowle that's in my plume; […]"
14
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. archaic
"Puritan austerity was so tempered by Dutch indifference, that mercy itself could not have dictated a milder system."
15
To fit together; to adjust; to accommodate. obsolete
"Thy sustenance […] serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man's liking."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English temperen, tempren, from Old English ġetemprian, temprian, borrowed from Latin temperō (“I divide or proportion duly, I moderate, I regulate; intransitive senses I am moderate, I am temperate”), from tempus (“time, fit season”). Compare also French tempérer. Doublet of tamper. See temporal.

Etymology 2

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