Definition
Lasting for a limited, defined, or indefinite period short of permanence. In law, "temporary" describes orders, status, relief, or appointments that are designed to govern a situation until a further event occurs — typically a full hearing, a final order, a condition precedent, or the resolution of an underlying proceeding. The term does not require a fixed end date; it requires only that the arrangement is not intended to be permanent.
The term appears across virtually every field of law, usually as a modifier:
1. TEMPORARY ORDER OR RELIEF. A court-issued directive that takes effect immediately or shortly after filing and remains in force only until superseded by a final order or dissolved by the court. Temporary restraining orders (TROs) and preliminary injunctions are the most common forms. Temporary alimony (also called pendente lite support) provides financial support to a spouse during the pendency of a divorce action, expiring when a final decree issues.
2. TEMPORARY STATUS (IMMIGRATION). A classification under which a noncitizen is admitted to the United States for a specified purpose and duration, with no expectation of permanent residence. Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and nonimmigrant work visas are principal examples.
3. TEMPORARY APPOINTMENT OR OFFICE. A position filled for an interim period, pending a permanent appointment, election, or confirmation. Temporary guardians, temporary administrators of estates, and acting officials fall here.
4. TEMPORARY DISABILITY. In workers' compensation and tort law, a condition that limits earning capacity or function for a definable period, after which the injured party is expected to recover or reach maximum medical improvement.
Common Language
Wiktionary: "Not permanent; existing only for a period or periods of time. Existing only for a short time or short times."
Webster's 1913: "Lasting for a time only; existing or continuing for a limited time; not permanent; as, the patient has obtained temporary relief."
The common meaning implies brevity — something temporary is expected to end soon. The legal meaning does not require actual brevity. A temporary order can remain in place for years if the underlying proceeding drags on. What makes something legally "temporary" is its structural relationship to a future event or final disposition, not how long it actually lasts in practice. Researchers reading historical sources that describe relief as "temporary" should not assume the duration was short.
Common Confusion
TEMPORARY vs. INTERIM vs. PROVISIONAL: These terms are often used interchangeably in legal documents but carry different nuances in some jurisdictions and contexts. "Interim" emphasizes the gap-filling function — it bridges a specific interval. "Provisional" often implies that the arrangement is subject to revocation or confirmation depending on future facts. "Temporary" is the broadest term and the one most consistently used as a formal legal modifier. In older equity practice, a "temporary injunction" was the standard phrase for what modern courts more often call a preliminary injunction; the terminology has shifted, and historical sources must be read accordingly.
TEMPORARY vs. PERMANENT (ORDERS AND DISABILITY): In family law, a temporary order of custody or support is categorically distinct from a permanent order. The two have different standards of modification, different evidentiary records, and different preclusive effects. In workers' compensation, temporary total disability (TTD) and permanent total disability (PTD) trigger different benefit schedules and duration limits. The labels carry legal consequence, not merely descriptive weight.
Why It Matters in Research
The word "temporary" is one of the most consequential modifiers in legal drafting, but it is easy to misread in historical sources because its practical meaning has shifted without any change in vocabulary.
HISTORICAL DRIFT IN INJUNCTION TERMINOLOGY. In 19th- and early 20th-century equity practice, courts spoke of "temporary injunctions" to mean what are now called preliminary injunctions — relief issued after notice and a hearing, intended to preserve the status quo through trial. The modern "temporary restraining order" (TRO) is a shorter-duration, often ex parte mechanism that did not always have a distinct name in older materials. When reading pre-Federal Rules sources (pre-1938 in federal practice), the phrase "temporary injunction" almost certainly refers to what would now be a preliminary injunction. Conflating these procedural stages will produce errors in historical legal analysis.
PENDENTE LITE CONTEXT. In family law materials, "temporary" consistently signals pendente lite — meaning the order or award is tied to the life of the litigation, not to a calendar period. Temporary child support and temporary custody orders in historical case reporters were governed by different rules than final orders and are not precedentially interchangeable with them. Researchers should check whether a reported decision concerns a temporary or final order before drawing conclusions about the applicable standard.
IMMIGRATION RESEARCH. "Temporary" in immigration law is a term of art that has been politically and legally contested. Temporary Protected Status, for example, has in practice been extended repeatedly for decades, creating tension between the statutory label and the operational reality. Historical administrative materials in this area use "temporary" in ways that were later judicially interpreted narrowly or broadly depending on the political moment. Researchers should treat the label as a starting point, not a conclusion about duration.
WORKERS' COMPENSATION. The distinction between temporary and permanent disability is foundational to benefit calculation. Historical state compensation acts used varying definitions and waiting periods before a disability could be reclassified. When researching across jurisdictions or time periods, the classification rules must be located for the specific jurisdiction and year — the label "temporary" alone does not determine the applicable benefit structure.
Historical Dictionary Support
The historical dictionary sources are unanimous on the core definition: something temporary is that which is to last for a limited time only, as distinguished from the perpetual or indefinite. Black's (both editions) and Bouvier use nearly identical formulations, and Rapalje & Lawrence follows the same line. The definition is stable across all five sources.
Black's 2nd Edition adds practical texture by citing temporary alimony as the paradigm case — support granted pendente lite, pending a divorce action. This framing is useful because it shows that historical courts understood "temporary" functionally (tied to the proceeding) rather than chronologically (tied to a fixed date).
The Anderson's Dictionary entry reproduced in the source material appears to be a misprint or editorial error — the text describes telephone patent litigation and has no bearing on the term. Researchers should disregard it.
None of the historical sources address the procedural distinctions between TROs and preliminary injunctions that became important under modern rules-based practice, nor do they address the immigration or workers' compensation contexts that now constitute major areas of "temporary" doctrine. Historical dictionary support for this term is adequate for foundational research but requires significant supplementation for modern application.
Jurisdictional Note
The procedural rules governing temporary orders — particularly their duration, notice requirements, and standards for issuance — vary significantly by jurisdiction and subject matter. Federal courts operate under Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for TROs and preliminary injunctions. State courts have their own equivalents, and family law temporary orders are governed by state-specific domestic relations statutes that differ substantially in procedure and modifiability.
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
family_158: Guardianship of Minors — Standby and Temporary Guardianship (The Law Mind Family Law Encyclopedia)
family_106: Child Support — Retroactive and Temporary Child Support (The Law Mind Family Law Encyclopedia)
admin_121: Nonimmigrant Visas — Temporary Workers, Students, and Visitors (The Law Mind Administrative Law & Government Encyclopedia)