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I think in the case of “to lose one’s temper”, there isn’t an obvious match between the technology of the day and the early medical theory of four humours, not
by adolph 3y ago
I think in the case of “to lose one’s temper”, there isn’t an obvious match between the technology of the day and the early medical theory of four humours, not of metal-working.
Origin of Temper, New Oxford American Dictionary:
Old English temprian 'bring something into the required condition by mixing it with something else', from Latin temperare 'mingle, restrain'.
Sense development was probably influenced by Old French temper 'to temper, moderate'.
The noun originally denoted a proportionate mixture of elements or qualities, also the combination of the four bodily humours, believed in medieval times to be the basis of temperament, hence temper (sense 1 of the noun) (late Middle English). Compare with temperament.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_temperaments https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_temperaments
- HPsquared 3y agoSo tempered steel is well-balanced steel, or mild-mannered. See also the well-tempered clavier. In music, the temperament is an aspect of the tuning system relating to how the dissonances of different notes are balanced.
- adolph 3y agoHow did WTC not come to my mind, it is one of my favorite works! Maybe because it drives my spouse up the wall so I only listen it less often than I’d like. My favorite recording is the Ishikawa from OpenGoldberg [0]. Reflecting on my response to “lose one’s temper” I can see how a straight line reading of etymology (as I proposed) might be misleading if the specific idiom did come or return from steel or string as an enhancement/extension to the original’s meaning. https://youtu.be/nPHIZw7HZq4 https://youtu.be/nPHIZw7HZq4