temperature

[tem-per-uh-cher, -choo r, -pruh-, -per-cher, -choo r] /ˈtɛm pər ə tʃər, -ˌtʃʊər, -prə-, -pər tʃər, -ˌtʃʊər/
noun
1.
a measure of the warmth or coldness of an object or substance with reference to some standard value. The temperature of two systems is the same when the systems are in thermal equilibrium.
2.
Physiology, Pathology.
  1. the degree of heat in a living body, normally about 98.6°F (37°C) in humans.
  2. the excess of this above the normal.
3.
Obsolete. mildness, as of the weather.
4.
Obsolete, temperament.
Origin
1525-35; < Latin temperātūra a tempering. See temperate, -ure
Can be confused
fever, temperature.
Examples from the web for temperature
  • Climate scientists often talk about climate change in terms of global temperature swings of a few degrees or even less.
  • temperature is the degree of hotness or coldness of an object.
  • It was brightly lit, and the temperature within was a degree or two below freezing.
  • It is usually mixed in the morning, and the cook is able to watch the dough while rising and keep it at uniform temperature.
  • For example, this obviously holds in the case of the marble slab of the table and local variation of temperature.
  • The temperature of the world fluctuated widely, and there were long periods of glacial cold.
  • Fats may be heated to a high temperature, as considered in cookery they have no boiling-point.
  • Only gradually, as the day wears on and his temperature rises, does he become endurable to himself and to others.
  • Always bear in mind that eggs and milk in combination must be cooked at a low temperature.
  • After that much cooling had been achieved, the internal temperature ceased to affect surface conditions.
British Dictionary definitions for temperature

temperature

/ˈtɛmprɪtʃə/
noun
1.
the degree of hotness of a body, substance, or medium; a physical property related to the average kinetic energy of the atoms or molecules of a substance
2.
a measure of this degree of hotness, indicated on a scale that has one or more fixed reference points
3.
(informal) a body temperature in excess of the normal
4.
(archaic)
  1. compromise
  2. temperament
  3. temperance
Word Origin
C16 (originally: a mingling): from Latin temperātūra proportion, from temperāre to temper
Word Origin and History for temperature
n.

1530s, "fact of being tempered," also "character or nature of a substance," from Latin temperatura "a tempering, moderation," from temperatus, past participle of temperare "to moderate" (see temper (v.)). Sense of "degree of heat or cold" first recorded 1670 (Boyle), from Latin temperatura, used in this sense by Galileo. Meaning "fever, high temperature" is attested from 1898.

temperature in Medicine

temperature tem·per·a·ture (těm'pər-ə-chur', -chər, těm'prə-)
n.
Abbr. T, t, temp.

  1. The degree of hotness or coldness of a body or an environment.

  2. A specific degree of hotness or coldness as indicated on or referred to a standard scale.

  3. The degree of heat in the body of a living organism, usually about 37.0°C (98.6°F) in humans.

  4. An abnormally high condition of body heat caused by illness; a fever.

temperature in Science
temperature
  (těm'pər-ə-chr')   
  1. A measure of the ability of a substance, or more generally of any physical system, to transfer heat energy to another physical system. The temperature of a substance is closely related to the average kinetic energy of its molecules. See also Boyle's law.

  2. Any of various standardized numerical measures of this ability, such as the Kelvin, Fahrenheit, and Celsius scales.

  3. An abnormally high body temperature; a fever.


Our Living Language  : Heat and temperature are closely related but distinct and sometimes subtle ideas. Heat is simply transferred thermal energy—most commonly, the kinetic energy of molecules making up substance, vibrating and bouncing against each other. A substance's temperature, on the other hand, is a measure of its ability to transfer heat, rather than the amount of heat transferred. For example, a match lit under a pot of boiling water reaches a much higher temperature than the water, but it is able to give off much less heat, since only a small amount of thermal energy is created and released by it. When any two substances of different temperatures are in thermal contact, the laws of thermodynamics state that heat flows from the higher-temperature substance into the lower-temperature substance, raising the temperature of the heated body and lowering the temperature of the body releasing heat until thermal equilibrium is reached, and the temperatures are the same. Thus temperature describes a characteristic of matter that determines the direction and extent of heat transfer, so the match with little heat but high temperature still adds energy to the water when placed under the pot. Providing a closed physical system with heat generally raises its temperature but not necessarily; for example, ice at zero degrees Celsius requires considerable additional heat in order to melt into water at zero degrees Celsius. Temperature can be related to the average kinetic energy of the molecules of gases, though this relation breaks down in most real cases involving liquids, solids, substances with larger molecules, and radiation with no mass, such as light. The two most common temperature scales, Celsius (C) and Fahrenheit (F), are based on the freezing and boiling points of water. On the Celsius scale there are 100 increments between the two points, and on the Fahrenheit scale there are 180. Scientists also use the International System units called Kelvins (K). A difference in temperature of one degree is equivalent in the Celsius and Kelvin scales, but their absolute scales are different: while zero degrees C is the temperature at which water freezes (at a pressure of one atmosphere), zero degrees K (-273.72 degrees C), also called absolute zero, is the least possible temperature for a system, representing a theoretical state from which no heat can be extracted.
Idioms and Phrases with temperature

temperature