distemper: English has two distinct words distemper, although ultimately they come from the same source, Latin temperāre ‘mingle’ (source of English temper, temperate, and temperature). This formed the basis of two separate medieval Latin verbs, both compounded from the prefix dis- but using it in quite different ways. Dis- in the sense ‘reversal of a current state’ joined with temperāre in the specialized meaning ‘mingle in proper proportion’ to produce distemperāre ‘upset the proper balance of bodily humours’, hence ‘vex, make ill’.
This passed directly into English as distemper [14], and survives today mainly as the term for an infectious disease of dogs. Disjoined with temperāre in its intensive function produced medieval Latin distemperāre ‘mix thoroughly, soak’, which entered English via Old French destemprer in the 14th century. The meaning ‘soak, steep, infuse’ survived until the 17th century: ‘Give the Horse thereof every morning … the quantity of a Hasel-nut distempered in a quart of Wine’, Edward Topsell, History of Four-footed Beasts 1607.
The word’s modern application, to a water-based decorator’s paint, comes from the fact that the pigment is mixed with or infused in water (the same notion lies behind tempera [19], borrowed from Italian). => temper, temperate, temperature
distemper (v.)
mid-14c., "to disturb," from Old French destemprer, from Medieval Latin distemperare "vex, make ill," literally "upset the proper balance (of bodily humors)," from dis- "un-, not" (see dis-) + Latin temperare "mingle in the proper proportion" (see temper (v.)). Related: Distempered.
distemper (n.)
1550s, from distemper (v.); in reference to a disease of dogs, from 1747.
双语例句
1. Dogs must be vaccinated against distemper.
狗必须接种犬瘟热疫苗。
来自辞典例句
2. The distemper held him a long time, and at length carried him off.
他病了很长时间, 最后谢世.
来自辞典例句
3. Immunization for parvo is usually included in your dog's distemper vaccine.
细小疫苗通常包含在犬瘟热疫苗中.
来自互联网
4. No treatment other than supportive care exists for canine distemper.
不接受任何治疗的辅助治疗以外存在犬瘟热.
来自互联网
5. Dog, mink distemper, dog tiny virus and so on virulent diseases.
