temper means A general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting. It carries an Arena rating of 1825, earned across 12 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, temper ranks #20 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #327 of 42,762 for Qualifying, #773 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #2,543 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words.
temper is pronounced /ˈtɛmpə/.
Why “temper” is a great word
Temper is a person's characteristic state of mind, governing their tendency toward anger or calm, and also the act of moderating or strengthening a material, especially metal, through heat treatment. From Middle English temperen, tempren, from Old English ġetemprian, temprian, borrowed from Latin temperō ('to mix in due proportion, moderate, regulate'), from tempus ('time, due season'), it carries the ancient wisdom of things happening at their proper moment. Unlike 'mood,' which drifts across the surface of the psyche like weather, temper is bedrock—the accumulated sediment of disposition; and unlike 'anneal,' which softens through patient, gradual cooling, temper in the forge demands abruptness—plunging the glowing blade into water, the violent shock that makes steel hard. It is the blacksmith's hiss of steam, the sudden contraction of molecules locking into crystalline order; it is the clamped jaw of one who has learned to hold fire inside; it is the knowledge that strength, in both metal and character, comes from subjecting the self to heat and the risk of fracture—a balance not of peace, but of controlled tension.
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.
noun
- A general tendency or orientation towards a certain type of mood, a volatile state; a habitual way of thinking, behaving or reacting.e.g.“to have a good, bad, or calm temper”
- State of mind; mood.e.g.“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 a
- A tendency to become angry.e.g.“Mind your hasty temper!”
- Anger; a fit of anger.e.g.“an outburst of temper”
- Calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure.e.g.“to keep one's temper; to lose one's temper; to recover one's temper”
- Constitution of body; the mixture or relative proportion of the four humours: blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy.
- Middle state or course; mean; medium.e.g.“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,
- The state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; due mixture of different qualities.e.g.“the temper of mortar”
- The heat treatment to which a metal or other material has been subjected; a material that has undergone a particular heat treatment.
- The state of a metal or other substance, especially as to its hardness, produced by some process of heating or cooling.e.g.“the temper of iron or steel”
- Milk of lime, or other substance, employed in the process formerly used to clarify sugar.
- A non-plastic material, such as sand, added to clay to prevent shrinkage and cracking during drying or firing; tempering.
verb
- To moderate or control.e.g.“Temper your language around children.”
- To strengthen or toughen a material, especially metal, by heat treatment; anneal.
- To adjust the temperature of an ingredient (e.g. eggs or chocolate) gradually so that it remains smooth and pleasing.
- To sauté spices in ghee or oil to release essential oils for flavouring a dish in South Asian cuisine.
- To mix clay, plaster or mortar with water to obtain the proper consistency.
- To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual scale, or to that in actual use.
- To govern; to manage.e.g.“With which the damned ghosts he governeth, / And furies rules, and Tartare tempereth.” — 1591, Ed[mund] Sp[enser], “Prosopopoia. Or Mother Hubberds Tale.”, in Complaints. Containing Sundrie Small Poemes of the Worlds Vanitie. […], London: […] William Ponsonbie, […], →OCLC:
- To combine in due proportions; to constitute; to compose.
- 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.e.g.“Puritan austerity was so tempered by Dutch indifference, that mercy itself could not have dictated a milder system.”
- To fit together; to adjust; to accommodate.e.g.“Thy sustenance […] serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man's liking.” — 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Wisdom of Solomon 16:21:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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