Abstemious

English

Etymology

From Latin abstēmius; ab, abs + root of tēmētum (“‘intoxicating drink’”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /æbˈstɛmi.əs/
• Rhymes: -iːmiəs

Adjective

Abstemious (comparative {{{1}}}, superlative {{{2}}})

Positive Abstemious

Comparative {{{1}}}

Superlative {{{2}}}

1. (Original Latin sense) Abstaining from wine.

   Under his special eye Abstemious I grew up and thrived amain. - John Milton

2. Sparing in diet; refraining from a free use of food and strong drinks; temperate; abstinent; sparing in the indulgence of the appetite or passions.

   Instances of longevity are chiefly among the abstemious - John Arbuthnot.

3. Sparingly used; used with temperance or moderation

   an abstemious diet - Edward Gibbon

4. Marked by, or spent in, abstinence; as, an abstemious life.

   One abstemious day. - Alexander Pope

5. (rare) Promotive of abstemiousness

   Such is the virtue of the abstemious well. - John Dryden

• For examples of the usage of this term see the citations page.

Derived terms

• abstemiousness
• unabstemious

Translations

abstaining from wine

sparing in diet

Bulgarian: въздържан bg(bg), скромен bg(bg)

sparingly used; used with temperance or moderation

Bulgarian: пестелив bg(bg)

marked by, or spent in, abstinence

promotive of abstemiousness

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

Bulgarian: въздържан, умерен

Trivia

This word uses all five vowels just once and in alphabetical order (others are abstentious, annelidous, arsenious, caesious, facetious and fracedinous).

ar:abstemious fa:abstemious fr:abstemious gl:abstemious ko:abstemious it:abstemious hu:abstemious pl:abstemious fi:abstemious ta:abstemious te:abstemious th:abstemious tr:abstemious vi:abstemious