temperament
pronunciation
How to pronounce temperament in British English:
UK [ˈtemprəmənt]
How to pronounce temperament in American English:
US [ˈtemprəmənt]
-
- Noun:
- your usual mood
- excessive emotionalism or irritability and excitability (especially when displayed openly)
- an adjustment of the intervals (as in tuning a keyboard instrument) so that the scale can be used to play in different keys
Word Origin
- temperament (n.)
- late 14c., "proportioned mixture of elements," from Latin temperamentum "proper mixture, a mixing in due proportion," from temperare "to mix" (see temper (v.)). In medieval theory, it meant a combination of qualities (hot, cold, moist, dry) that determined the nature of an organism; thus also "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.
Example
- 1. Toxic stress during pregnancy may change the temperament of your child .
- 2. And certainly an artistic temperament is a fussy temperament .
- 3. But an animal 's temperament is a very different matter .
- 4. He was different from mr yeltsin in age and temperament .
- 5. All genuine innovators possess an urge to discover , an inquisitive temperament .