English
tempo
Tempo comes from Italian tempo ‘time’, from Proto-Italic *tempos ‘stretch’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *temp-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temp-‘to stretch, string’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tempos‘stretch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempus‘time’
- Italianc. 1300–presenttempo‘time’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temp-‘to stretch, string’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*tempos‘stretch’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtempus‘time’
- Italianc. 1300–presenttempo‘time’
- Englishearliest quotation 2025same form
Earliest quotation: 2025, Banu Mushtaq, Be a Woman Once, Oh Lord!: “From the back door of a tempo with his…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *temp- ‘to stretch, string’
antenna, contemplate, contemplation, templar, 21 more
through Proto-Italic *tempos ‘stretch’
temperature, temperament, temperate, tamper, temperance, contemporaneously, tempera, 14 more
through Latin tempus ‘time’
contemporary, temple, tense, temper, template, contemporaneous, matin, tempestuous, tempura, 13 more
Today it means
noun A frequency or rate.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *temp- / tempo