Forum: ell.stackexchange.com
Tags: <word-request>
Title: What's the word meaning “normal-temperature” water?
Question: When I intend to buy a non-cold bottled water in a grocery, the seller often gives me a chilled one. I have to express myself again by saying something like "I need a non-cold normal temperature one", then they'll get it.  This is really a heavy sentence that I’d rather avoid, so what”s the word meaning “normal temperature” bottled water?

Answers:
sents: text: A good phrase for "non-cold normal temperature" is "room temperature".
text: If you ask for "room temperature water" then people will know not to give you cold water.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/23/Matt Ellen
score: 50
sents: text: Words like lukewarm and tepid do an accurate job of describing the temperature of the water, but they don't necessarily sound all that natural in the context of buying bottled water.
text: I think the same could be said for room temperature .
text: You might just try unrefrigerated instead.
text: Could I get an unrefrigerated bottle, please?
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/113/J.R.
score: 34
sents: text: The word that describes a temperature the same as that of the surrounding environment is ambient , but it may not be understood as such by the average grocer.
text: To be sure of getting what you wanted, you’d probably have to something like ‘Can I have one that isn't chilled?’
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/217/Barrie England
score: 7
sents: text: Just ask for "Room Temperature water".
text: Saying this would help in buying water at a grocers; and also people won't put an excessive amount of ice in your water at restaurants, too.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/552/PriyankaK
score: 4
sents: text: If you don't want a chilled one, ask for unchilled.
text: "noncold" doesn't occur because the prefix "non" of Latin origin does not usually combine with adjectives of Germanic origin: we do not have "nonfriendly", "nonhappy", but we do have "nonalcoholic" and "nontoxic".
text: On the other hand, "non" is broadly compatible with gerund forms of verbs, regardless of their origin: e.g. "nonliving things", "nonsmoking area", as well as with "-er" forms related to "-ing": "nonsmoker".
text: Something that has not been made cold is also "uncooled"; it's just that the verb more commonly used for deliberately cooling a drink is to "chill": "Beer should be served {chilled | cooled ?}."
text: To address a question in the comments below: "nonchilled" is also awkward because "non" also doesn't combine with verbs at all, including verbs formed from nouns, and
text: so it goes poorly with "-ed" adjectives which are derived from verb participles.
text: "to nonchill" could never be a verb, and so "nonchilled" could never be a participle
text: : "the weather had nonchilled" is nonsense which probably intends to say "the weather had not chilled".
text: A counterexample is "nonplussed"; however "plus" is not used as a verb, "nonplus" is basically a unit and note that it's two pieces of Latin origin.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/197/Kaz
score: 3
sents: text: I think the most common expression for the application you want is non-chilled or not chilled .
text: Matt mentions "Room temperature" but that may be read as somewhat too specific
text: - it's almost a scientific term.
text: There's a near term which doesn't strike quite at "normal temperature" but if you need something that's normally hot, you may ask for lukewarm , which is warmer than normal but not by much.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/30/SF.
score: 1
sents: text: "Lukewarm" (the "e" is silent) generally means "not noticeably hot or cold".
text: "Room temperature" works, though it's a bit long and unwieldy.
text: "Tepid" technically means the same thing
text: but (1) it might be slightly unfamiliar to some speakers, and (2) it has a stronger negative connotation - if you say something's tepid, you're saying it's lukewarm, but you're also kind of saying that it's bad that it's lukewarm.
answer_details: author: ell.stackexchange.com/users/15823/Stephen Dunscombe
score: 0

Summary of the answers:
"Room temperature" is widely used. "Unrefrigerated" or "unchilled" are also options. "Lukewarm" and "tepid" mean neither hot or cold, but sound less natural.
Room temperature may be used, but can have a more specific meaning. Tepid, lukewarm, not chilled, non-chilled and unrefrigerated are all options.