Webster's English Dictionary

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distemper

1. dis.tem.per \dis-'tem-p*r\ vt [ME distempren, fr. LL distemperare to 
   temper badly, fr. L dis-)X + temperare to temper 1: to throw out of order  
   archaic  2: UNSETTLE, DERANGE 
2. distemper \dis-'tem-p(*-)r*t\ n 1: bad humor or temper  2: a disordered 
   or abnormal bodily state usu. of a lower animal : as  2a: a highly 
   contagious virus disease esp. of dogs marked by fever and by r espiratory 
   and sometimes nervous symptoms 2b: STRANGLES  2c: PANLEUCOPENIA  2d: a 
   severe frequently fatal infectious nasopharyngeal inflammation of rab bits 
   3: political or social disorder  - dis.tem.per.ate aj
3. distemper vt [ME distemperen, fr. MF destemprer, fr. L dis- + temperare] 
   obs  1: to dilute with or soak, steep, or dissolve in a liquid  2a: to mix 
   (ingredients) to produce distemper  2b: to paint in or with distemper 
4. distemper n 1: a process of painting in which the pigments are mixed 
   with an emulsion o f egg yolk, with size, or with white of egg, or with 
   size only as a vehicle and which is usu. used for scene painting or mural 
   decoration 2a: the paint or the prepared ground used in the distemper 
   process  2b: a painting done in distemper  3: any of a number of paints 
   using water as a vehicle