It’s time. No, it’s not time, it’s “time.” What I mean to say is that “time” is today’s word.
“Time” comes from Old English, derived from the Germanic root word “timon” (to stretch or extend). The original meaning of “time” in English was what we today mean by “a long time.” It was such a useful word that all sorts of other uses appeared, from “in my time” to “I had a good time” to “what time is it” to “remember that time when…”. But through the centuries “time” retained its basic meaning as well as all the add-on usages.
There are some other English words that might seem to be related to “time.” “Temporary,” for example. However, “temporary” arrived in English in the 1200s, and it came from Latin; it’s not directly related to the word “time” at all. “Temporary” comes from the Latin “tempestus” (a period of time or season of the year). Note that there are two meanings there; one having to do with time and the other having to do with seasons. A good way to distinguish between seasons is to observe the weather — as in, when you have a big storm, is is dropping rain or sleet or snow. And what’s another word for a “big storm?” A “tempest,” of course. “Tempest” also comes from Latin, from “tempestas”, which came (in Latin) to mean weather, and eventually a storm. Another word not really related to “time.”
The Latin root word for time itself is “tempus”, which is probably the root of the Latin “temperare”, which means to blend. And that led to the English word “temper,” which arrived in the 1300s and originally meant a mixture of elements. It didn’t take long before it began to be applied to people as well as alchemical concoctions, and meant a mixture of traits. From there it was a short leap to adjust the time-related aspect of the word (see what I did there?) from fairly permanent characteristics to immediate mood, which is where the phrase “a fit of temper” and “temper tantrum” come from. “Temperare” is also the root word of “temperature,” which these days means any measurement of warmth, but originally referred to “moderate weather.” That association with moderation is still around in two other words from the same lineage: “temperate” and “temperance.”
Thus here we are today with words whose meanings are quite different thanks to their shared derivation from terms having to do with weather. On the violent side we have “tempest,” “temper,” and “tempestuous,” and on the calm side we have “temperate” and “temperance.” So the words are (possibly accidentally) mimicking the weather itself — and as everybody knows, if you don’t like the weather now, just wait. For a certain period of time.
