a person's or animal's nature, especially as it permanently affects their behaviour 气质;性情,性格,禀赋 she had an artistic temperament. 她有艺术气质。 ■[mass noun]the tendency to behave angrily or emotionally 急躁脾气;容易兴奋(或激动)的性格;易变的性情 he had begun to show signs of temperament. 他开始显露出急躁的脾气。
[mass noun]the adjustment of intervals in tuning a piano or other musical instrument so as to fit the scale for use in different keys; in equal temperament, the octave consists of twelve equal semitones 调(音)律(在平均律中,8度音阶包含有12个均等的半音程)
语源
late Middle English: from Latin temperamentum 'correct mixture', from temperare 'mingle'. In early use the word was synonymous with the noun temper