Abstemious Definition

ăb-stēmē-əs, əb-

adjective

Eating and drinking in moderation.

American Heritage

Moderate, esp. in eating and drinking; temperate.

Webster's New World

Characterized by abstinence or moderation.

An abstemious way of life.

American Heritage

Characterized by abstinence.

Webster's New World

Sparing in diet; refraining from a free use of food and strong drinks; temperate; abstinent; sparing in the indulgence of the appetite or passions. [First attested in the mid 17^th century.]

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Antonyms:

Origin of Abstemious

First attested in 1600. From Latin abstēmius (“abstaining from wine”); from ab, abs (“from”) + tēmus, root of tēmētum (“intoxicating drink, mead, wine”), akin to German dämlich (“stupid, silly”), Old Norse þám (“mugginess”), Old Irish tám (“death”), Sanskrit ताम्यति (tāmyati, “he becomes stunned, exhausted”).

From Wiktionary
From Latin abstēmius abs-, ab- away ab–¹ tēmum liquor variant of tēmētum

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

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