| temper | 1. The state of any compound substance which results from the mixture of various ingredients; due mixture of different qualities; just combination; as, the temper of mortar. 2. Constitution of body; temperament; in old writers, the mixture or relative proportion of the four humors, blood, choler, phlegm, and melancholy. "The exquisiteness of his [Christ's] bodily temper increased the exquisiteness of his torment." (Fuller) 3. Disposition of mind; the constitution of the mind, particularly with regard to the passions and affections; as, a calm temper; a hasty temper; a fretful temper. "Remember with what mild And gracious temper he both heared and judged." (Milton) "The consequents of a certain ethical temper." (J. H. Newman) 4. Calmness of mind; moderation; equanimity; composure; as, to keep one's temper. "To fall with dignity, with temper rise." (Pope) "Restore yourselves to your tempers, fathers." (B. Jonson) 5. Heat of mind or passion; irritation; proneness to anger; in a reproachful sense. 6. The state of a metal or other substance, especially as to its hardness, produced by some process of heating or cooling; as, the temper of iron or steel. 7. Middle state or course; mean; medium. "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." (Macaulay) 8. Milk of lime, or other substance, employed in the process formerly used to clarify sugar. Temper screw, in deep well boring, an adjusting screw connecting the working beam with the rope carrying the tools, for lowering the tools as the drilling progresses. Synonym: Disposition, temperament, frame, humor, mood. See Disposition. 1. 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; to soothe; to calm. "Puritan austerity was so tempered by Dutch indifference, that mercy itself could not have dictated a milder system." (Bancroft) "Woman! lovely woman! nature made thee To temper man: we had been brutes without you." (Otway) "But thy fire Shall be more tempered, and thy hope far higher." (Byron) "She [the Goddess of Justice] threw darkness and clouds about her, that tempered the light into a thousand beautiful shades and colours." (Addison) 2. To fit together; to adjust; to accomodate. "Thy sustenance . . . Serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man's liking." (Wisdom xvi. 21) 3. <chemistry> To bring to a proper degree of hardness; as, to temper iron or steel. "The tempered metals clash, and yield a silver sound." (Dryden) 4. To govern; to manage. "With which the damned ghosts he governeth, And furies rules, and Tartare tempereth." (Spenser) 5. To moisten to a proper consistency and stir thoroughly, as clay for making brick, loam for molding, etc. 6. To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual scale, or to that in actual use. Synonym: To soften, mollify, assuage, soothe, calm. Origin: AS. Temprian or OF. Temper, F. Temperer, and (in sense 3) temper, L. Temperare, akin to tempus time. Cf. Temporal, Distemper, Tamper. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| tempera | A mode or process of painting; distemper. The term is applied especially to early Italian painting, common vehicles of which were yolk of egg, yolk and white of egg mixed together, the white juice of the fig tree, and the like. Origin: It. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| temperament | 1. Internal constitution; state with respect to the relative proportion of different qualities, or constituent parts. "The common law . . . Has reduced the kingdom to its just state and temperament." (Sir M. Hale) 2. Due mixture of qualities; a condition brought about by mutual compromises or concessions. "However, I forejudge not any probable expedient, any temperament that can be found in things of this nature, so disputable on their side." (Milton) 3. The act of tempering or modifying; adjustment, as of clashing rules, interests, passions, or the like; also, the means by which such adjustment is effected. "Wholesome temperaments of the rashness of popular assemblies." (Sir J. Mackintosh) 4. Condition with regard to heat or cold; temperature. "Bodies are denominated "hot" and "cold" in proportion to the present temperament of that part of our body to which they are applied." (Locke) 5. A system of compromises in the tuning of organs, pianofortes, and the like, whereby the tones generated with the vibrations of a ground tone are mutually modified and in part canceled, until their number reduced to the actual practicable scale of twelve tones to the octave. This scale, although in so far artificial, is yet closely suggestive of its origin in nature, and this system of tuning, although not mathematically true, yet satisfies the ear, while it has the convenience that the same twelve fixed tones answer for every key or scale, C# becoming identical with D<flat/, and so on. 6. <physiology> The peculiar physical and mental character of an individual, in olden times erroneously supposed to be due to individual variation in the relations and proportions of the constituent parts of the body, especially of the fluids, as the bile, blood, lymph, etc. Hence the phrases, bilious or choleric temperament, sanguine temperament, etc, implying a predominance of one of these fluids and a corresponding influence on the temperament. Equal temperament, that in which the variations are thrown into the keys least used. Origin: L. Temperamentum a mixing in due proportion, proper measure, temperament: cf. F. Temperament. See Temper. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| temperance | Abstinence from alcohol. (12 Dec 1998) |
| temperate | 1. Moderate; not excessive; as, temperate heat; a temperate climate. 2. Not marked with passion; not violent; cool; calm; as, temperate language. "She is not hot, but temperate as the morn." (Shak) "That sober freedom out of which there springs Our loyal passion for our temperate kings." (Tennyson) 3. Moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions; as, temperate in eating and drinking. "Be sober and temperate, and you will be healthy." (Franklin) 4. Proceeding from temperance. "The temperate sleeps, and spirits light as air. <geography>" (Pope) Temperate zone, that part of the earth which lies between either tropic and the corresponding polar circle; so called because the heat is less than in the torrid zone, and the cold less than in the frigid zones. Synonym: Abstemious, sober, calm, cool, sedate. Origin: L. Temperatus, p.p. Of temperare. See Temper. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| temperate bacteriophage | Bacteriophage whose genome incorporates with, and replicates with, that of the host bacterium; dissociation (and resultant development of vegetative bacteriophage) occurs at a slow rate resulting occasionally in lysis of a bacterium and release of mature bacteriophage, thus rendering the bacterial culture capable of inducing general lysis if transferred to a culture of a susceptible bacterial strain. (05 Mar 2000) |
| temperate phage | A bacteriophage that integrates its DNA into that of the host (lysogeny) as opposed to virulent phages that lyse the host. (18 Nov 1997) |
| temperate virus | <virology> A virus which, upon infection of a host, does not necessarily cause lysis but whose genome may replicate in synchrony with that of the host. See: lysogen. (09 Oct 1997) |
| temperature | <chemistry> Temperature is proportional to the average random kinetic energy of ideal gases. (09 Jan 1998) |
| temperature coefficient | The fractional change in any physical property per degree rise in temperature. (05 Mar 2000) |
| temperature midpoint | The midpoint in the change in optical properties (absorbance, rotation) of a structured polymer (e.g., DNA) with increasing temperature. Synonym: melting temperature. (05 Mar 2000) |
| temperature sense | The sensation of cold, heat, coolness, and warmth. (12 Dec 1998) |
| temperature sensitive mutation | <genetics, molecular biology> A type of conditional mutation in organism, somatic cell or virus that makes it possible to study genes whose total inactivation would be lethal. Such ts mutations can also make possible studies of the effect of reversible switching by temperature changes) in expression of the mutated gene. The usual mechanism of temperature sensitivity is that the mutated gene codes for a protein with a temperature dependent conformational instability, so that it possesses normal activity at one temperature (the permissive temperature), but is inactive at a second (nonpermissive) temperature. (18 Nov 1997) |
| temperature spot | One of a number of definitely arranged spot's on the skin sensitive to heat and cold, but not to ordinary pressure or pain stimuli. (05 Mar 2000) |
| temperature, plasma | <radiobiology> A measure of the random (thermal) kinetic energy of the ions or electrons in the plasma. The temperature of each component of a plasma depends on the mean kinetic energy of that component. An example of this is the fluorescent light bulb, which is an example of a weakly-ionised plasma where the electrons are at temperatures of tens of thousands of degrees, whereas the ions and neutrals are much cooler (so that you can touch the bulb without being burned). See: atomic temperature, electron temperature, ion temperature. (09 Oct 1997) |