Etymograph

English

temperate

Temperate comes from Latin temperātus ‘qualified, tempered, moderated’, from Proto-Italic *tempos ‘stretch’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *temp-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temp-1‘to stretch, string’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tempos2‘stretch’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtemperō3‘to moderate, forbear, combine properly’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtemperātus3‘qualified, tempered, moderated’perfect passive participle of temperō
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592temperate3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *tempos
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin tempero
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English temperate
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “She is not hot, but temperate as the morn.”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temp-Wiktionary, Proto-Italic *tempos‘to stretch, string’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*temposWiktionary, Latin tempero‘stretch’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtemperōWiktionary, English temperate‘to moderate, forbear, combine properly’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtemperātusWiktionary, English temperate‘qualified, tempered, moderated’perfect passive participle of temperō
  5. Englishearliest quotation c. 1590–1592temperateWiktionary, English temperate. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1590–1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew: “She is not hot, but temperate as the morn.”

first attested first attested in 1380 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

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).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *temp- ‘to stretch, string’

antenna, temporal, contemplate, contemplation, templar, contemporaneous, 25 more

through Proto-Italic *tempos ‘stretch’

contemporary, temple, temporary, tense, tempo, template, matin, tempura, 20 more

through Latin temperō ‘to moderate, forbear, combine properly’

tamper, 8 more

Today it means

adj Moderate; not excessive.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “temperate”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Italic *tempos, Latin tempero. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *temp- / temperate

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