tempus
Latintime, occasion, opportunity
About This Root
Tempus is the Latin word for time — not the steady tick of hours, but time as occasion, moment, the right season for something. It is the same word behind English temporal (relating to time) and temporary (lasting only a while), and it survives in the musical tempo (the pace of time in a piece).
This particular entry focuses on one vivid branch of the family: the "out of time" words built with the prefix ex- (out of). The key idea is that planned, prepared speech happens in its proper time — you rehearse, you schedule, you wait for the moment. To act ex tempore is to act out of that planned time, on the spur of the moment, without the preparation that time would normally allow.
From the Latin phrase ex tempore (literally "out of the time") English took three near-synonyms:
- extempore — the adjective/adverb: done on the spot, without preparation. He spoke extempore.
- extemporaneous — the longer adjective, common in American English, especially for speeches: an extemporaneous address.
- extemporize — the verb (-ize = to make/do): to improvise, to make it up as you go.
All three say the same thing from slightly different grammatical angles: producing something outside of prepared time. Notice that the tempor spelling (not tempus) appears in the actual English words — Latin shifted tempus to tempor- in most of its grammatical forms, and English inherited that stem. So when you break these words down, the time root shows up as tempor.
The quiet lesson of this branch: ex- + tempor turns "time" into its opposite — not careful, scheduled time, but the unrehearsed now.
Ex tempore = literally "out of time." Picture a speaker who runs out of prepared time and has to wing it — that's all three words: speak extempore, give an extemporaneous talk, or extemporize on stage. No prep, just the moment.
Core Words Deep Dive
The few words from this family worth telling in full — one by one.
The seed of the whole branch — the Latin phrase ex tempore ('out of the time') frozen into one English word. It works as both adjective and adverb: 'an extempore reply' or 'she answered extempore.' The image is exact: speech produced outside of any prepared time, on the spot.
The fuller adjective, favored in American English, especially for public speaking. An 'extemporaneous speech' is delivered without a full script — often from brief notes — as opposed to a memorized or read-aloud one. It sounds more formal and technical than 'off-the-cuff,' which is why teachers and debate coaches use it.
The verb (-ize = to make/do): to improvise, to invent as you go. A musician extemporizes a solo; a speaker who loses their notes has to extemporize. It's the action form of the same idea — producing something live, outside prepared time.