distemper
/dɪsˈtɛmpə(ɹ)/noun, verb
distemper is spelled D-I-S-T-E-M-P-E-R: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,179th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, distemper means “A viral disease of animals, such as dogs and cats, characterised by fever, coughing and catarrh” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of distemper is distempers.
How many letters and syllables are in distemper?
| Letters | 9: D-I-S-T-E-M-P-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 62,179th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is distemper?
Distemper appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,179th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce distemper?
- UK /dɪsˈtɛmpə(ɹ)/
Distemper has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-distemper.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of distemper
- distempers plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- distempering participle, present
- distempered participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does distemper mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A viral disease of animals, such as dogs and cats, characterised by fever, coughing and catarrh.
- 2
archaicA disorder of the humours of the body; a disease.
- 3
A glue-based paint.
- 4
A painting produced with this kind of paint.
verb
- 1
To temper or mix unduly; to make disproportionate; to change the due proportions of.
- 2
To derange the functions of, whether bodily, mental, or spiritual; to disorder; to disease.
- 3
To deprive of temper or moderation; to disturb; to ruffle; to make disaffected, ill-humoured, or malignant.
- 4
To intoxicate.
- 5
To paint using distemper.
- 6
To mix (colours) in the way of distemper.
to distemper colors with size
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Distemper in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense disease:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Staupe |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does distemper come from?
From Old French destemprer, from Latin distemperare.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).