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)
- (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.
- Johnson
Related terms
- contemperation
- contemperature
- temper