What does the prefix temp mean?

Answer 1

As a prefix, temp- means "time." By extension, it could mean the present time, or "now". However, that is not always apparent in the words that use this prefix.

Temperance is the virtue of self-constraint. It is unclear as to how it ties to "time" unless you think of it as avoiding what you want to do at a particular time. So in that sense, at a given moment, you might want to consume alcohol, get revenge, fight, spend money, or be arrogant, but you choose not to do so instead.

The word temper is short for temperance, and it refers to controlling one's anger. Most think of the word the wrong way and thinks it means the opposite, and thus have difficulty understanding the phrase, "losing one's temper." So in light of the above, losing one's temper means losing one's self-control. Temper can also refer to the hardness of metal. If it can bend, it has good temper, but if it can break, then it has lost its temper and become brittle.

The word temporary makes the time connection clearer, since it is something that is used for a particular time (usually now) and not used later. Temporary files on a computer are only used for a short bit, and then they are deleted (if the system or program that creates them works properly). A temporary worker is someone who does the job for a short time such as days or weeks until the assignment is over.

Answer 2

time