tempus

Tempus is a Latin noun meaning time, occasion, or season. In classical Latin it designates the general concept of time as well as a specific period or era, and the term survives in modern Romance languages in phrases such as tempus fugit, time flies, and in scholarly discussions of temporal concepts.

In grammar, tempus denotes the category of time that marks when an action occurs. In Latin and many languages, tempus is closely associated with tense, encoding present, past, and future forms with various subtypes. Some linguistic traditions also distinguish aspect and mood within or alongside tempus, leading to multiple ways of expressing temporal relations across languages.

In music theory, tempus is a medieval term used in mensural notation to describe the division of time values within a note grouping. Tempus perfectum indicates a triple division (three semibreves in a breve), while tempus imperfectum indicates a duple division (two semibreves in a breve). The concept is paired with prolation, which governs the subdivision of the beat, and it underpinned how tempo and rhythm were notated in Gregorian and medieval polyphony.

In philosophy and physics, tempus is the Latin word often used in historical texts to discuss time as a dimension or parameter. Contemporary discussions distinguish time from space within the framework of spacetime, but tempus remains a conventional term in Latin and translation contexts.

The term also appears in culture and branding as a name for organizations, products, or fictional entities, but its enduring relevance is as the root that informs many language and scholarly terms related to time.