Etymology

Probably from a Vulgar Latin *intemplāre or *templāre, itself possibly from Latin templum ‎(“temple; an open area, especially for augury or auspices”) (whence ultimately English contemplate through a derivative verb contemplor). To the augurs of ancient Rome, the flight of a bird that entered the templum was said to mean something was about to happen, and perhaps the Romanian term's sense derives from this, although it is uncertain. Alternatively, and perhaps more likely, the word derives instead from a diminutive of Latin tempus ‎(“time”) (cf. the etymology of the derivative extemplo), with the sense coming from "that which is produced by time", thus "that which happens or occurs".^[1]