distemper

¹

[ dis-tem-per ]

noun

1. Veterinary Pathology.
   1. Also called canine distemper. an infectious disease chiefly of young dogs, caused by an unidentified virus and characterized by lethargy, fever, catarrh, photophobia, and vomiting.
   2. Also called colt distemper,. an infectious disease of horses, caused by the bacillus Streptococcus equi and characterized by catarrh of the upper air passages and the formation of pus in the submaxillary and other lymphatic glands.
   3. Also called cat distemper,. a usually fatal viral disease of cats, characterized by fever, vomiting, and diarrhea, leading to severe dehydration.
2. a deranged condition of mind or body; a disorder or disease:

   a feverish distemper.

3. disorder or disturbance, especially of a political nature.

verb (used with object)

1. Obsolete. to derange physically or mentally.

distemper

²

[ dis-tem-per ]

noun

1. Art.
   1. a technique of decorative painting in which glue or gum is used as a binder or medium to achieve a mat surface and rapid drying.
   2. (formerly) the tempera technique.
2. a painting executed by this method.
3. British. whitewash; calcimine.

verb (used with object)

1. to paint in distemper.
2. British. to whitewash a wall, cottage, etc.; calcimine.

distemper

¹

/ dɪsˈtɛmpə /

noun

1. a technique of painting in which the pigments are mixed with water, glue, size, etc, used for poster, mural, and scene painting
2. the paint used in this technique or any of various water-based paints, including, in Britain, whitewash

verb

1. tr to mix (pigments) with water and size
2. to paint (something) with distemper

distemper

²

/ dɪsˈtɛmpə /

noun

1. any of various infectious diseases of animals, esp canine distemper , a highly contagious viral disease of dogs, characterized initially by high fever and a discharge from the nose and eyes See also hard pad strangles
2. archaic.
   1. a disease or disorder
   2. disturbance
   3. discontent

verb

1. archaic.
   tr to disturb

distemper

/ dĭs-tĕm′pər /

1. An infectious disease occurring especially in dogs, caused by the canine distemper virus of the genus Morbillivirus. It is characterized by loss of appetite, a discharge from the eyes and nose, vomiting, fever, lethargy, partial paralysis caused by destruction of myelinated nerve tissue, and sometimes death.
2. An infectious disease of cats caused by the feline panleukopenia virus of the genus Parvovirus, characterized by fever, vomiting, diarrhea leading to dehydration, and sometimes death.

Other Words From

• dis·tem·pered·ly adverb
• dis·tem·pered·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of distemper¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English verb distemp(e)ren, destempren “to upset the balance of humors,” from Old French destemprer, from Medieval Latin distemperāre “to mix badly or in wrong proportions,” equivalent to Latin dis- dis- ¹ + temperāre “to mitigate, temper ”

Origin of distemper²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb distemperen “to dissolve or diliute (strong medicine)”; distemper ¹( def )

Word History and Origins

Origin of distemper¹

C14: from Medieval Latin distemperāre to soak, from Latin dis- ¹+ temperāre to mingle

Origin of distemper²

C14: from Late Latin distemperāre to derange the health of, from Latin dis- ¹+ temperāre to mix in correct proportions

Example Sentences

We’ve only seen the psychic distemper brought about by excessive nationalism and the equally violent response to it.

From Salon

These included rabies for dogs and cats, canine parvovirus and canine distemper for dogs, and feline panleukopenia and feline Bordetella for cats.

From Science Daily

“The big one, of course, is rabies. Rabies is a killer… but there's also parvovirus. There's distemper. There's roundworm. There's leptospirosis. I mean, I could go on and on.”

From National Geographic

Populations of that subspecies found only on the island crashed to roughly 100 in 1999 because of a canine distemper epidemic.

From Los Angeles Times

Standard tests conducted on available tissues for pathogens were negative for rabies, toxoplasmosis, distemper and avian influenza.

From Seattle Times