DISTEMPER

I. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English distempren, from Late Latin ~are to temper badly, from Latin dis- + temperare to temper Date: 14th century to throw out of order, derange , unsettle , II. noun Date: 1546 bad humor or temper, a disordered or abnormal bodily state especially of quadruped mammals: as, a highly contagious virus disease especially of dogs that is caused by a paramyxovirus (species Canine ~ virus of the genus Morbillivirus ) and is marked by fever, leukopenia, and respiratory, gastrointestinal, and neurological symptoms, strangles , panleukopenia , ailment , disorder , ~ate adjective III. noun Etymology: obsolete ~, verb, to dilute, mix to produce ~, from Middle English, from Anglo-French destemprer, from Latin dis- + temperare Date: 1632 a process of painting in which the pigments are mixed with an emulsion of egg yolk, with size, or with white of egg as a vehicle and which is used for painting scenery and murals, 2. the paint or the prepared ground used in the ~ process, a painting done in ~, any of various water-based paints, IV. transitive verb Date: circa 1873 to paint in or with ~