- Distemper
- Distemper Dis*tem"per, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Distempered}; p.
pr. & vb. n. {Distempering}.] [OF. destemprer, destremper, to
distemper, F. d['e]tremper to soak, soften, slake (lime);
pref. des- (L. dis-) + OF. temprer, tremper, F. tremper, L.
temperare to mingle in due proportion. See {Temper}, and cf.
{Destemprer}.]
1. To temper or mix unduly; to make disproportionate; to
change the due proportions of. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
When . . . the humors in his body ben distempered. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]
2. To derange the functions of, whether bodily, mental, or spiritual; to disorder; to disease. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
The imagination, when completely distempered, is the most incurable of all disordered faculties. --Buckminster. [1913 Webster]
3. To deprive of temper or moderation; to disturb; to ruffle; to make disaffected, ill-humored, or malignant. ``Distempered spirits.'' --Coleridge. [1913 Webster]
4. To intoxicate. [R.] [1913 Webster]
The courtiers reeling, And the duke himself, I dare not say distempered, But kind, and in his tottering chair carousing. --Massinger. [1913 Webster]
5. (Paint.) To mix (colors) in the way of distemper; as, to distemper colors with size. [R.] [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
