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détremper

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Etymology and origin of the French word détremper

détremper1 soak, dilute

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1155 Wace, Roman de Brut
Inherited from
Latin distempero via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin temperō

Pronunciation

  • /de.tʁɑ̃.pe/[1]

Forms

détremper[1] Old French past participles destempree (1155) and destrempee (13th century).[2][3]

Etymology

The word for “soak, dilute” is inherited from Old French destremper, inherited from Latin distemperō (“to mix, dilute”),[2][4][5] formed in Latin from dis- and temperō (“to mix in due proportion”).[4][5][6] The modern form with /r/ is due to tremper, itself from the same Latin verb, whose learned doublet is tempérer.[4][5] Littré and Wiktionary instead analyse the verb as dé- plus the same French verb.[3][1]

Cognate with Old Occitan destemprar and Spanish destemplar.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1155 in Wace's Brut, as the participle destempree, of a drink mixed with poison.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The verb means to soften something by soaking it or to dissolve it in a liquid, and it is used especially in cooking and painting.[4][2] The Roman de la Rose speaks of mortar mixed with vinegar and quicklime.[3] Littré notes that Old French destremper also meant to upset what was well tempered, the source of English distemper.[3] In classical French it was used figuratively for dissolving away a feeling.[6]

The deverbal noun détrempe first meant a drink or infusion (destempre, 1231); faire destrempe as couleurs is found in 1304, and by 1636 it named a painting done in distemper.[4]

Timeline

  • 1155 – Destempree in Wace's Brut.[2][4]
  • 1231 – The noun destempre “drink, infusion”.[4]
  • 1304 – Faire destrempe as couleurs, in painting.[4]
  • c. 1375 – The noun détrempage appears in Taillevent's Viandier.[2][4]
  • 1636 – Détrempe names a painting in distemper.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To soak and soften something with a liquid, or dilute it in a liquid: la pluie a détrempé le jardin.[7][2][1]
  2. (cooking) To mix flour with a liquid to make a dough.[2][6]
  3. (painting) To mix colours with a liquid binder.[7][6]
  4. To water down a liquid by adding another.[2][1]

Word family

  • détrempe
  • détrempage

détremper2 untemper steel

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1468 before 1468, Chastellain, Chronique
Ultimate origin
Latin temperō
Etymology tree of détremper2
inherited borrowed derived
Latin temperō
French tremper
French détremper
Italian temprare
English temper
French tempérer
From the same root · détremper2
Latin obtemperō ← temperō
Latin temperāmentum ← temperō
Latin temperāns ← temperō
Latin temperātiō ← temperō
Latin temperātūra ← temperō
Latin temperātus ← temperō
Latin temperiēs ← temperō
English tamper ← temper

Pronunciation

  • /de.tʁɑ̃.pe/[1]

Forms

détremper[1]

Etymology

The word for “untemper steel” is formed from French dé- + tremper, the opposite of the simple verb in its sense “to temper steel”.[2][5][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found before 1468 in Chastellain's Chronique, in espée destrempée, a sword that had lost its temper.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The figurative sense “to soften, weaken” appears in Amyot in 1547.[2][6] The technical sense, making steel lose its temper by heating it red and letting it cool slowly, is recorded by the Académie des sciences in 1692.[6][7][2]

Timeline

  • before 1468 – Espée destrempée in Chastellain's Chronique.[2][5]
  • 1547 – Amyot uses it figuratively, “to soften”.[2]
  • 1692 – The Mémoires de l'Académie des sciences use it of steel.[6][7]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (metallurgy) To make steel lose its temper, wholly or partly, by heating it red and cooling it slowly.[2][7][6]
  2. (figurative, literary) To weaken: détremper le caractère.[7][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Détremper.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/d%C3%A9tremper. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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