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Webster 1913 Edition


Abstemious

Ab-ste′mi-ous

,
Adj.
[L.
abstemius
;
ab
,
abs
+ root of
temetum
intoxicating drink.]
1.
Abstaining from wine.
[Orig. Latin sense.]
Under his special eye
Abstemious
I grew up and thrived amain.
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
.
Arbuthnot.
3.
Sparingly used; used with temperance or moderation;
as, an
abstemious
diet
.
Gibbon.
4.
Marked by, or spent in, abstinence;
as, an
abstemious
life
.
“One abstemious day.”
Pope.
5.
Promotive of abstemiousness.
[R.]
Such is the virtue of the
abstemious
well.
Dryden.

Webster 1828 Edition


Abstemious

ABSTE'MIOUS

,
Adj.
[L. abstemium, from abs and temetum, an ancient name of strong wine, according to Fabius and Gellius. But Vossius supposes it to be from abstineo, by a change of n to m. It may be from the root of timeo, to fear, that is, to withdraw.]
1.
Sparing in diet; refraining from a free use of food and strong drinks.
Instances of longevity are chiefly among the abstemious.
2.
Sparing in the enjoyment of animal pleasures of any kind. [This sense is less common, and perhaps not legitimate.]
3.
Sparingly used, or used with temperance; belonging to abstinence; as an abstemious diet; an abstemious life.

Definition 2024


abstemious

abstemious

English

Adjective

abstemious (comparative more abstemious, superlative most abstemious)

  1. 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 17th century.][1]
    • (Can we date this quote?), John Arbuthnot, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Instances of longevity are chiefly among the abstemious
    • (Can we date this quote?), John Milton, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Under his special eye Abstemious I grew up and thrived amain.
    • 1919, W. Somerset Maugham, chapter 28, in The Moon and Sixpence:
      In the dimness of the landing I could not see him very well, but there was something in his voice that surprised me. I knew he was of abstemious habit or I should have thought he had been drinking.
  2. Sparingly used; used with temperance or moderation. [First attested in the mid 17th century.][1]
    • (Can we date this quote?), Edward Gibbon, (Please provide the title of the work):
      an abstemious diet
  3. Marked by, or spent in, abstinence; as, an abstemious life.
    • (Can we date this quote?), Alexander Pope, (Please provide the title of the work):
      One abstemious day.
    • 1826, Mary Shelley, chapter 5, in The Last Man:
      [] when I, abstemious naturally, and rendered so by the fever that preyed on me, was forced to recruit myself with food.
  4. (rare) Promotive of abstemiousness.
    • (Can we date this quote?), John Dryden, (Please provide the title of the work):
      Such is the virtue of the abstemious well.
    • For usage examples of this term, see Citations:abstemious.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. 1 2 Lesley Brown (editor), The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 5th edition (Oxford University Press, 2003 [1933], ISBN 978-0-19-860575-7), page 9