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noun Tempering n. (Metal.) The process of giving the requisite degree of hardness or softness to a substance, as iron and steel; especially, the process of giving to steel the degree of hardness required for various purposes, consisting usually in first plunging the article, when heated to redness, in cold water or other liquid, to give an excess of hardness, and then reheating it gradually until the hardness is reduced or drawn down to the degree required, as indicated by the color produced on a polished portion, or by the burning of oil. 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.
verb Temper v. t. (past & past part. tempered; pres. part. tempering) 1.To mingle in due proportion; to prepare by combining; to modify, as by adding some new element; to qualify, as by an ingredient; hence, to soften; to mollify; to assuage; to soothe; to calm. "Puritan austerity was so tempered by Dutch indifference, that mercy itself could not have dictated a milder system." "Woman! lovely woman! nature made thee To temper man: we had been brutes without you." "But thy fire Shall be more tempered, and thy hope far higher." "She (the Goddess of Justice) threw darkness and clouds about her, that tempered the light into a thousand beautiful shades and colors." 2.To fit together; to adjust; to accomodate. "Thy sustenance... serving to the appetite of the eater, tempered itself to every man's liking." 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." 4.To govern; to manage. (A Latinism & Obs.) "With which the damned ghosts he governeth, And furies rules, and Tartare tempereth." 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. Synonyms: To soften; mollify; assuage; soothe; calm.
Temper v. i. 1.To accord; to agree; to act and think in conformity. (Obs.) 2.To have or get a proper or desired state or quality; to grow soft and pliable. "I have him already tempering between my finger and my thumb, and shortly will I seal with him."
Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48
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