Where does “temperament” come from?
temperament (Middle English) comes from Middle French tempérament, from Latin temperamentum, from Latin temperō, from Latin tempus, from Proto-Indo-European tempos, from Proto-Indo-European temp- — to extend, stretch, span; to stetch, string; to...
Ancestry of “temperament”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle French | tempérament | — |
| 2 | Latin | temperamentum | — |
| 3 | Latin | temperō | — |
| 4 | Latin | tempus | time, period, age; season; kairos, right time,... |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | tempos | stretch |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | temp- | to extend, stretch, span; to stetch, string; to... |