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temperament

Syllabification: (tem·per·a·ment)
Pronunciation: /ˈtemp(ə)rəmənt/

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Definition of temperament

noun

  • 1a person’s or animal’s nature, especially as it permanently affects their behavior:she had an artistic temperament
  • the tendency to behave angrily or emotionally:he had begun to show signs of temperament
  • 2the adjustment of intervals in tuning a piano or other musical instrument so as to fit the scale for use in different keys; in equal temperament, the octave consists of twelve equal semitones.

Origin:

late Middle English: from Latin temperamentum 'correct mixture', from temperare 'mingle'. In early use the word was synonymous with the noun temper

Remember that temperament is spelled with -era- in the middle.a man of moderate temperament.

temperament in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of temperament in the British & World English dictionary