Definify.com
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
dietGibbon.
4.
Marked by, or spent in, abstinence;
“One abstemious day.” as, an
. abstemious
lifePope.
5.
Promotive of abstemiousness.
[R.]
Such is the virtue of the
abstemious
well. Dryden.
Webster 1828 Edition
Abstemious
ABSTE'MIOUS
,Adj.
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)
- 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.
-
- 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
-
- 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.
-
- (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
abstaining from wine
sparing in diet
sparingly used; used with temperance or moderation
marked by, or spent in, abstinence
promotive of abstemiousness