Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - temperate

 adjective  Etymology: Middle English temperat, from Latin temperatus, from past participle of temperare  Date: 14th century  1. marked by moderation: as  a. keeping or held within limits ; not extreme or excessive ; mild  b. moderate in indulgence of appetite or desire  c. moderate in the use of alcoholic beverages  d. marked by an absence or avoidance of extravagance, violence, or extreme partisanship  2.  a. having a moderate climate which especially lacks extremes in temperature  b. found in or associated with a moderate climate ~ insects  3. existing as a prophage in infected cells and rarely causing lysis ~ bacteriophages  • ~ly adverb  • ~ness noun