The warmth or coolness a thing carries — the sensory channel of thermal feeling, from ember to frost.
Latin temperatura (a proper mingling, a moderating), from temperare (to mix in due proportion); the degree of heat a thing carries took the name of the older idea of a well-proportioned mixture.
The warmth or coolness a thing carries, the sensory channel running from ember to frost. Named for a proportion once thought mixed rather than simply measured.