temperature Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun the degree of hotness or coldness of a body or environment (corresponding to its molecular activity)
noun the somatic sensation of cold or heat

F. température, L. temperatura due measure, proportion, temper, temperament.

Constitution; state; degree of any quality.
The best composition and temperature is, to have openness in fame and opinion, secrecy in habit, dissimulation in seasonable use, and a power to feign, if there be no remedy. Bacon.

Memory depends upon the consistence and the temperature of the brain. I. Watts.
Freedom from passion; moderation. Obs.
In that proud port, which her so goodly graceth, Most goodly temperature you may descry. Spenser.
(Physics) Condition with respect to heat or cold, especially as indicated by the sensation produced, or by the thermometer or pyrometer; degree of heat or cold; as, the temperature of the air; high temperature; low temperature; temperature of freezing or of boiling.
Mixture; compound. Obs.
Made a temperature of brass and iron together. Holland.