temperate
adjective
- moderate, not excessive
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈtɛmpəɹət/
adj
Etymology: The adjective is first attested in 1380, in Middle English, the verb in 1540; borrowed from Latin temperātus, perfect passive participle of temperō (“to moderate, forbear, combine properly”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix). See temper. Displaced native Old English ġemetegod.
- Moderate; not excessive.
“temperate heat”
“He has a temperate demeanour”
- Moderate; not excessive.
“These trees can only grow in temperate climates.”
“Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.”
- Moderate; not excessive.
“temperate in eating and drinking.”
“August 9, 1768, Benjamin Franklin, To John Alleyne, Esq. On Early Marriages Be sober and temperate, and you will be healthy.”
- Proceeding from temperance.
“The temperate sleeps, and spirits light as air.”
- Dependent on life in a temperate climate.
“temperate fishes”
verb
Etymology: The adjective is first attested in 1380, in Middle English, the verb in 1540; borrowed from Latin temperātus, perfect passive participle of temperō (“to moderate, forbear, combine properly”), see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (verb-forming suffix). See temper. Displaced native Old English ġemetegod.
- To render temperate; to moderate
“It inflames temperance, and temp'rates wrath.”