The word tempura entered English in 1868, borrowed from Japanese tenpura, written in kanji as either 天ぷら or 天麩羅. The Japanese word was almost certainly borrowed from Portuguese in the 16th century, during the period of intensive contact between Portuguese traders and missionaries and Japan (1543-1639). The most commonly cited Portuguese source words are tempero meaning seasoning or condiment and temporas meaning Ember days, the quarterly Catholic fasting periods formally known as Quatuor Anni Tempora. During these fasting days, Portuguese missionaries abstained from meat and instead ate battered, fried vegetables and seafood, a practice that Japanese observers would have associated with the word they heard.
Both Portuguese candidates ultimately derive from Latin. Tempero comes from Latin temperare meaning to moderate, season, or mix properly, which traces to PIE *temp- meaning to stretch or span. Temporas comes from Latin tempora, the plural of tempus meaning time or season, from the same PIE root. The two Latin words are closely related: temperare originally meant to observe proper measure in time, and tempora referred to measured periods. Whether the Japanese borrowed tempero (the seasoning) or temporas (the fasting days) may be impossible to determine with certainty
Portuguese missionaries and traders, particularly Jesuits, arrived in Japan in the 1540s and established significant communities in Nagasaki and other ports. The Portuguese introduced firearms, Christianity, and various foods and cooking techniques to Japan. The practice of coating food in batter and frying it in oil was not indigenous to Japanese cuisine, which had traditionally relied on grilling, steaming, boiling, and raw preparation. Japanese cooks adopted the frying technique and transformed it over the following
The first attestation in English dates to 1868, the year of the Meiji Restoration, when Japan reopened to foreign contact. Western visitors to Japan described tempura in their accounts of Japanese food, and the word entered English culinary vocabulary. By the mid-20th century, tempura was familiar to English speakers through Japanese restaurants, particularly in the United States.
The cognates of tempura's Latin roots are extensive. English temporal (relating to time) descends from Latin temporalis, built on the same tempus root. English temper comes from Latin temperare, the same verb that may have produced Portuguese tempero. English temperature, temperament, and contemplate all belong to this family. The PIE root *temp- produced a wide network
In modern English, tempura refers specifically to the Japanese preparation: ingredients coated in a light batter of cold water, flour, and sometimes egg, then deep-fried at high temperature until crisp and barely colored. The word is used without modification in restaurant menus and cookbooks worldwide. Tempura masters in Japan undergo years of training to perfect the batter consistency, oil temperature, and timing that produce the characteristically light, crisp coating. The word has not developed significant figurative uses in English; it remains firmly anchored