tepidadj.

Brit.

/ˈtɛpɪd/, U.S.

/ˈtɛpəd/

Forms: Also Middle English teped, 1500s tepit.

Etymology: < Latin tepidus lukewarm, < tepēre to be warm. So obsolete or dialect French tépide (16th cent. in Godefroy).

Moderately or slightly warm; lukewarm.

a. literal. (Usually in reference to liquids.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > [adjective] > having or communicating much heat > warm > lukewarm

wlakc897

lukec1275

lewc1300

flakec1400

flashc1400

lukewarmc1400

tepidc1400

luke-hota1425

lew-warmc1450

lukewarmed1540

lew-warmed1588

c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurgie 137 He worchiþ riȝtfulliche þat vsiþ teped oilis.

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §346 For as a great heat keepeth bodies from putrefaction, but a tepid heat inclineth them to putrefaction.

1691 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense (ed. 8) 55 Let the Water stand in the Sun till it grow tepid.

1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) §78 A blister on the spot, and plenty of tepid tar-water.

1884 F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer ii A cold sirocco, bringing showers of tepid rain from the south.

b. figurative. = lukewarm adj. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adjective] > lukewarm or lacking enthusiasm

coolOE

luke1340

tepid1513

lukewarmc1522

unearnest1542

spiritless1566

zeallessa1594

faint1596

unfiery1598

tepidous1607

Laodicean1633

heartless1636

unzealous1643

slight1660

unenthusiastic1805

teporous1821

coolish1850

ice-cool1891

demotivated1963

meh2007

1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid xi. Prol. 60 Gyf Crystis faithfull knychtis lyst ws be,..Than man we..Nowder be abasit, tepit, nor ȝit blunt.

1641 J. Gauden Love of Truth 30 A tepid and Laodicean love.

1740 G. Cheyne Ess. Regimen 333 Of the two Evils, Infidelity and Tepidity is..the worst..in regard of the Infidels and Tepid themselves.

1873 H. Spencer Study Sociol. (1874) viii. 179 Remind them of certain precepts..in the creed they profess, and the most you get is a tepid assent.

1926 Scribner's Mag. Sept. 259/2 Her smile said that pastels were thin things for tepid people.

1941 A. Christie Evil under Sun x. 197 Some tepid little man, vain and sensitive—the kind of man who broods.

Derivatives

ˈtepidly adv. in a tepid or lukewarm manner.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adverb] > lukewarmly or unenthusiastically

lukely1340

faintlyc1440

slightly1599

with half a heart1600

heartlessly1606

lukewarmly1611

disaffectedly1646

half-heartedly1870

unzealously1871

tepidly1873

1696 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) Tepidly, lukewarm.

1873 H. Spencer Study Sociol. (1874) viii. 179 The precepts tepidly assented to.

ˈtepidness n. = tepidity n.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [noun] > lukewarmness or lack of enthusiasm

warmness1561

lukewarmness1573

coolnessa1586

lukeness1597

unzealousness1615

tepiditya1631

mambling1640

half-heartedness1670

lukewarmth1716

unfervency1787

tepidness1821

under-zeal1841

1821 Ld. Byron Diary in Poet. Wks. (1846) 510/2 Some tepid-ness on the part of Kean, or warmth on that of the author.

1903 Ld. Rosebery in Westm. Gaz. 13 Oct. 8/2 This may explain a slight tepidness on the part of Australia.

† ˈtepidous adj. tepid, lukewarm (obsolete).

ΘΚΠ