Etymology
Borrowed from Latin temperatus, past participle of temperare (“moderate, forbear, combine properly”).
Adjective
temperate (comparative more temperate, superlative most temperate)
- Moderate; not excessive
- temperate heat
- a temperate climate
- Moderate in the indulgence of the natural appetites or passions
- temperate in eating and drinking.
- Living in an environment that is temperate, not extreme.
- temperate fishes
Derived terms
- (geology) temperate zone, that part of the earth which lies between either tropic and the corresponding polar circle; — so called because the heat is less than in the torrid zone, and the cold less than in the frigid zones.
Related terms
- temper
- temperature
Credits
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