tempereras

Tempereras is a Spanish noun in plural form; the singular is temperera. The term is derived from temperar, meaning to temper, regulate, or moderate. Its meaning is context-dependent and relatively specialized, and it is not a common everyday term in modern Spanish.

In metallurgy and materials work, temperera can refer to a female worker who performs tempering, a heat-treatment process used to adjust steel and other alloys’ hardness and toughness. The tempering process typically follows hardening: the material is heated to a defined temperature and then cooled, sometimes with subsequent aging. The role of a temperera, when used, is part of a broader metalworking or heat-treatment workflow. In practice, many texts would use gender-neutral terms such as temperador or temperadora as appropriate to the language conventions.

In the context of art and painting, temperera can denote a painter who works with tempera, a painting medium based on pigments bound with an adhesive such as egg yolk. Tempera painting is known for its fine detail and luminous color and was widely used in medieval and early Renaissance art. While not as common today, the term temperera may appear in historical discussions or regional usages to describe practitioners of this technique.

The word is relatively specialized and may appear mainly in technical, historical, or regional texts. When encountered, its precise meaning is inferred from the surrounding context, whether referring to metal tempering or the tempera painting technique. See also tempering and tempera.