contemper

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin contemperare, contemperatum, from con- + temperare (“to temper”). Compare contemperate.

Verb

contemper (third-person singular simple present contempers, present participle contempering, simple past and past participle contempered)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To modify or temper; to allay; to qualify; to moderate or soften.
    • Johnson
      The antidotes […] have allayed its bitterness and contempered its malignancy.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.