tempo English · revision 39844

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈtɛm.pəʊ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈtɛm.poʊ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ {{homograph|1|rate of movement}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1724|origins=la tempus}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|tempo|t=time]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024) [[inh|la|tempus|t=time, season, portion of time]],^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Klein 1966) the source of [[temporal]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Barnhart notes that it is a doublet of the grammatical noun [[tense]].^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a fencing term, the timing of an attack: 1688, in Randle Holme's ''Academy of Armory'',^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010) a sense now obsolete.^(OED 2026) In music, the relative speed of a piece: 1724,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) in a glossary of foreign words found in music books.^(OED 2026) Dictionary.com dates the word to 1680–90.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In music the word names the speed at which a piece or passage is played, usually marked by a direction such as ''allegro'' or by a metronome figure,^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024) and the characteristic pace of a dance, as in ''tempo di minuetto''.^(OED 2026) The plural is ''tempi'' or ''tempos''.^(Collins 2023)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) The extended sense, the rate of motion or activity of anything, is first recorded in 1898, in Shaw's ''You Never Can Tell'',^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) and ''to raise the tempo'' from 1914.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1688 – (fencing) the timing of an attack (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1724 – (music) the speed of a piece.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1898 – the rate of any activity, in Shaw.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1914 – ''to raise the tempo''.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # (music) The [[speed]] at which a piece or passage is played: ''The second movement should be taken at a slower tempo.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # The [[rate]] or [[pace]] of an activity: ''the hectic tempo of city life''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[downtempo]]

+ * [[midtempo]]

+ * [[uptempo]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|Japanese coin}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1860, R. H. Dana|origins=ja 天保}}

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|ja|天保|tr=tempō]],^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)^(Evans 1997) from the name Tempō, also written Tenpō, of the period of Japanese history from 1830 to 1844, when the coin was first minted.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An oval bronze coin of Japan with a square hole in the centre: 1860, in the journal of Richard Henry Dana.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The coin was first minted in 1835,^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) and its fuller name was ''tempo tsuho'', current treasure of the Tempō era.^(OED 2026)^(Evans 1997) It circulated until 1891.^(Evans 1997)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1860 – the coin, in Dana's journal.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # (historical) An oval [[bronze]] [[coin]] of Japan with a square hole in the centre, issued in the 19th century.^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[temporal]]

+ * [[tense]]

+ * [[temper]]

+ * [[temporary]]

+ * [[contemporary]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}