Distemper
English Meaning
To temper or mix unduly; to make disproportionate; to change the due proportions of.
- An infectious viral disease occurring in dogs, characterized by loss of appetite, a catarrhal discharge from the eyes and nose, vomiting, fever, lethargy, partial paralysis caused by destruction of myelinated nerve tissue, and sometimes death. Also called canine distemper.
- A similar viral disease of cats characterized by fever, vomiting, diarrhea leading to dehydration, and sometimes death. Also called feline distemper, panleukopenia.
- Any of various similar mammalian diseases.
- An illness or disease; an ailment: "He died . . . of a broken heart, a distemper which kills many more than is generally imagined” ( Henry Fielding).
- Ill humor; testiness.
- Disorder or disturbance, especially of a social or political nature.
- To put out of order.
- Archaic To unsettle; derange.
- A process of painting in which pigments are mixed with water and a glue-size or casein binder, used for flat wall decoration or scenic and poster painting.
- The paint used in this process.
- A painting made by this process.
- To mix (powdered pigments or colors) with water and size.
- To paint (a work) in distemper.