pro tempore
1
9.3
- idiom
- /proʊ ˈtɛmpəˌreɪ/
- Formal
:
pro tempore
- In the absence of the vice president, the Senate appoints a president pro tempore to lead meetings.
- president pro tempore
- pro tempore of the Senate
Examples
-
Needing bipartisan support, he championed the legislation as a living memorial to Ellender, the late president pro tempore of the Senate.
Academic text (1993) -
First, the Speaker and the President pro tempore might not have the appropriate experience to assume the duties of the presidency.
Academic text (2014) -
The election of the Senate president pro tempore could be interesting political theater next week.
Blog text (14) -
Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defense.
Blog text (28) -
The process might resemble the selection of the president pro tempore of the Senate.
Academic text (1992) -
The President of the Senate pro tempore recognizes the spokesman for the House of Representatives.
-
In the Vice President's place, the Senate elects a President pro tempore to act as the Presiding Officer.
Academic text (2004) -
In addition, the Speaker or the President pro tempore might be unable to make a sudden readjustment to their priorities if either were thrust into carrying out the duties of the presidency.
Academic text (2014) -
In 1989, he was elected president pro tempore of the Senate—a largely ceremonial post—and named chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
Blog text (14) -
The senator served as president pro tempore while the regular president was out of town.
Synonyms
106
3.4
For now until the situation changes
55
6.1
Temporary for now and likely to change
3
9.0
For a short time, usually in an official role
For a short time until a permanent one takes over
How Temporary
Surface Forms
Morphology
pro + tempore
The phrase is a literal Latin composition (pro = 'for', tempore ≈ 'time') so its meaning 'for the time being' is directly derivable if a learner knows the constituent Latin senses. However, the constituents are not English words and the phrase is a fixed, formal Latin insertion in English, so for an average B1 learner the connection is not fully predictable or readily inferable without prior exposure.
Etymology
Pro tempore comes from Latin and literally means pro 'for' and tempore 'time'. Imagine someone taking a job for a short while until a new person is chosen; that's why it means 'for the time being' or 'temporarily' in official roles.