Definition of distemper
- v. t. - To temper or mix unduly; to make disproportionate; to
change the due proportions of.
- v. t. - To derange the functions of, whether bodily, mental,
or spiritual; to disorder; to disease.
- v. t. - To deprive of temper or moderation; to disturb; to
ruffle; to make disaffected, ill-humored, or malignant.
- v. t. - To intoxicate.
- v. t. - To mix (colors) in the way of distemper; as, to
distemper colors with size.
- v. t. - An undue or unnatural temper, or disproportionate
mixture of parts.
- v. t. - Severity of climate; extreme weather, whether hot or
cold.
- v. t. - A morbid state of the animal system; indisposition;
malady; disorder; -- at present chiefly applied to diseases of brutes;
as, a distemper in dogs; the horse distemper; the horn distemper in
cattle.
- v. t. - Morbid temper of the mind; undue predominance of a
passion or appetite; mental derangement; bad temper; ill humor.
- v. t. - Political disorder; tumult.
- v. t. - A preparation of opaque or body colors, in which the
pigments are tempered or diluted with weak glue or size (cf. Tempera)
instead of oil, usually for scene painting, or for walls and ceilings
of rooms.
- v. t. - A painting done with this preparation.