temperament
Use Temperament in a sentence
pər noun
1.
the combination of mental, physical, and emotional traits of a person; natural predisposition.
2.
unusual personal attitude or nature as manifested by peculiarities of feeling, temper, action, etc., often with a disinclination to submit to conventional rules or restraints.
3.
(old physiology) the combination of the four cardinal humors, the relative proportions of which were supposed to determine physical and mental constitution.
4.
Music.
a.
the tuning of a keyboard instrument, as the piano, organ, or harpsichord, so that the instrument may be played in all keys without further tuning.
b.
a particular system of doing this.
5.
Archaic. an act of tempering or moderating.
6.
Archaic. climate.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin temperāmentum due mixture, equivalent to temperā(re) to mix properly + -mentum -ment
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin temperāmentum due mixture, equivalent to temperā(re) to mix properly + -mentum -ment
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To temperament
00:10
Temperament
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
temperament (ˈtɛmpərəmənt, -prəmənt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an individual's character, disposition, and tendencies as revealed in his reactions |
| 2. | excitability, moodiness, or anger, esp when displayed openly: an actress with temperament |
| 3. | character See also personality the characteristic way an individual behaves, esp towards other people |
| 4. | a. an adjustment made to the frequency differences between notes on a keyboard instrument to allow modulation to other keys |
| b. See also just intonation any of several systems of such adjustment, such as just temperament, a system not practically possible on keyboard instruments, mean-tone temperament, a system giving an approximation to natural tuning, and equal temperament, the system commonly used in keyboard instruments, giving a scale based on an octave divided into twelve exactly equal semitones | |
| 5. | obsolete the characteristic way an individual behaves, viewed as the result of the influence of the four humours (blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile) |
| 6. | archaic compromise or adjustment |
| 7. | an obsolete word for temperature |
| [C15: from Latin temperāmentum a mixing in proportion, from temperāre to | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
temperament
early 15c., "proportioned mixture of elements," from L. temperamentum "proper mixture," from temperare "to mix" (see temper). In medieval theory, it meant a combination of qualities (hot, cold, moist, dry) that determined the nature of an organism; this was extended to a
combination of the four humors (sanguine, choleric, phlegmatic, and melancholic) that made up a person's characteristic disposition. General sense of "habit of mind, natural disposition" is from 1821.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
temperament tem·per·a·ment (těm'prə-mənt, těm'pər-ə-)
n.
The manner of thinking, behaving, or reacting characteristic of a specific person.
disposition; temper.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
His emotions were too fervent, his temperament too violent to allow for the usual distance between language and living.
In fact, predilection for one or the other character is a sign of the reader's own temperament.
Some veteran professors also note a strong cultural gap in temperament and outlook between themselves and the new faculty members.
Personality disorders, by contrast, are marbleized through the entire temperament.
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
