intemperatus

Forms

intemperātus (feminine intemperāta, neuter intemperātum, adverb intemperātē); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin in- + temperātus (“tempered, controlled”).^[2][1][3] The adjective is the participle of temperō (“to restrain, blend”), which de Vaan derives from an older ⟨*tempes-āi̯e-⟩, a verb from the s-stem of tempus (“time”), from Proto-Indo-European *temp-os (“stretch”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero has it in On Friendship, warning against an immoderate goodwill that hinders friends' great interests.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The TLL notes that it occurs in Cicero's prose and then from Apuleius on.^[3] It means immoderate or excessive,^[2][6] as in Apuleius' unmixed and unrestrained vices;^[2] Ovid's intemperata nocte is the dead of night.^[7] Caelius Aurelianus used it of unmixed wine, translating Ancient Greek ἄκρατος (ákratos),^[7] and Seneca, in the comparative, of an inclement climate.^[6] Medieval writers used it of what lacks due measure, of unrestrained people and of stormy weather.^[8][9] English borrowed it as intemperate in the late 14th century.^[10]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero speaks of an immoderate goodwill.^[2][5]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid uses intemperata nocte for the dead of night.^[7][5]
• c. 125–175 AD – Apuleius uses it of unrestrained vices.^[2][5]
• 5th century AD – Caelius Aurelianus uses it of unmixed wine.^[7][5]
• late 14th century – English borrows it as intemperate.^[10]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Immoderate, excessive, intemperate.^[2][6]
2. Untempered, inclement.^[6]
3. (Late Latin) Unmixed, of wine.^[7][11]
4. (Medieval Latin) Lacking self-control; of weather, stormy.^[9][8]

Related words

• intemperāns
• English intemperate

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
4. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
8. ^ a b Mittellateinisches Wörterbuch bis zum ausgehenden 13. Jahrhundert (1967–), Munich: C. H. Beck; Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
9. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.