The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Distemper \Dis*tem"per\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Distempered; p.
pr. & vb. n. Distempering.] [OF. destemprer, destremper, to
distemper, F. d['e]tremper to soak, soften, slake (lime);
pref. des- (L. dis-) + OF. temprer, tremper, F. tremper, L.
temperare to mingle in due proportion. See Temper, and cf.
Destemprer.]
1. To temper or mix unduly; to make disproportionate; to
change the due proportions of. [Obs.]
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When . . . the humors in his body ben distempered.
--Chaucer.
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2. To derange the functions of, whether bodily, mental, or
spiritual; to disorder; to disease. --Shak.
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The imagination, when completely distempered, is the
most incurable of all disordered faculties.
--Buckminster.
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3. To deprive of temper or moderation; to disturb; to ruffle;
to make disaffected, ill-humored, or malignant.
"Distempered spirits." --Coleridge.
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4. To intoxicate. [R.]
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The courtiers reeling,
And the duke himself, I dare not say distempered,
But kind, and in his tottering chair carousing.
--Massinger.
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5. (Paint.) To mix (colors) in the way of distemper; as, to
distemper colors with size. [R.]
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