Puritan austerity was so tempered by Dutch
indifference, that mercy itself could not have
dictated a milder system. --Bancroft.
Woman! lovely woman! nature made thee To temper man:
we had been brutes without you. --Otway.
But thy fire Shall be more tempered, and thy hope
far higher. --Byron.
She [the Goddess of Justice] threw darkness and
clouds about her, that tempered the light into a
thousand beautiful shades and colors. --Addison.
2. To fit together; to adjust; to accomodate.
Thy sustenance . . . serving to the appetite of the
eater, tempered itself to every man's liking.
--Wisdom xvi.
21.
3. (Metal.) To bring to a proper degree of hardness; as, to
temper iron or steel.
The tempered metals clash, and yield a silver sound.
--Dryden.
4. To govern; to manage. [A Latinism & Obs.]
With which the damned ghosts he governeth, And
furies rules, and Tartare tempereth. --Spenser.
5. To moisten to a proper consistency and stir thoroughly, as
clay for making brick, loam for molding, etc.
6. (Mus.) To adjust, as the mathematical scale to the actual
scale, or to that in actual use.
Syn: To soften; mollify; assuage; soothe; calm.
{Tempering color}, the shade of color that indicates the
degree of temper in tempering steel, as pale straw yellow
for lancets, razors, and tools for metal; dark straw
yellow for penknives, screw taps, etc.; brown yellow for
axes, chisels, and plane irons; yellow tinged with purple
for table knives and shears; purple for swords and watch
springs; blue for springs and saws; and very pale blue
tinged with green, too soft for steel instruments.