temperament

[tem-per-uh-muh nt, -pruh-muh nt, -per-muh nt] /ˈtɛm pər ə mənt, -prə mənt, -pər mənt/
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.
  1. 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.
  2. 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
Synonyms
1. nature, makeup. See disposition.
Examples from the web for temperament
  • Some veteran professors also note a strong cultural gap in temperament and outlook between themselves and the new faculty members.
  • All of these advantages, of course, depend on the character and temperament of the administrator.
  • They are different in nature, in temperament, in function.
  • 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.
  • Personality disorders, by contrast, are marbleized through the entire temperament.
  • Almost as equally debated is the squid's temperament.
  • Small and furry, the carnivores are known for their unearthly howl and cranky temperament.
  • Domestic animals are chosen for their ability to breed in captivity and for their calm temperament.
  • Short and sturdy, he was by temperament an introvert, his whole being dedicated to bookish research.
British Dictionary definitions for temperament

temperament

/ˈtɛmpərəmənt; -prəmənt/
noun
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.
the characteristic way an individual behaves, esp towards other people See also character, personality
4.
  1. an adjustment made to the frequency differences between notes on a keyboard instrument to allow modulation to other keys
  2. 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 See also just intonation
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
Word Origin
C15: from Latin temperāmentum a mixing in proportion, from temperāre to temper
Word Origin and History for temperament
n.

early 15c., "proportioned mixture of elements," from Latin 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.

temperament in Medicine

temperament tem·per·a·ment (těm'prə-mənt, těm'pər-ə-)
n.

  1. The manner of thinking, behaving, or reacting characteristic of a specific person.

  2. Disposition; temper.