The word 'temp' is a modern English abbreviation that emerged in the 20th century. It is a direct shortening of the adjective 'temporary', which itself originates from the Latin 'temporarius', meaning 'of time' or 'lasting only for a time', from 'tempus' (time). When used as a noun or verb for a temporary worker, it reflects the post-industrial workforce's need for a concise term for short-term employment. In its informal sense as an abbreviation for 'temperature', it follows a common linguistic pattern of clipping longer, frequently used words for efficiency in casual speech.

This word is a clipped form (shortening) of the longer word "temporary" or "temperature". As a clipping, it does not contain distinct, separable morphemes in its modern form.