abstemious

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /æbˈstimiəs/ UK /æbˈstiːmiəs/ See IPA manual

adj

Meanings

1

adj
sparing or moderate in eating and drinking

His abstemious habits kept him fit well into old age.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · sparing or moderate in... temperate moderateabstinentsober austere frugalself-denying

Opposites

gluttonous intemperate indulgent immoderate greedy

Word family

Forms abstemiousness

Derived forms abstemiouslyabstemiousness

Related forms abstain abstinence

Etymology

From Latin abstēmius ('abstaining from wine'), from abs- ('away from') + tēmum (an old word related to tēmētum, 'intoxicating drink').

abstēmius Latin tēmētum Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# abstemious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** æbˈstimiəs
**IPA (UK):** æbˈstiːmiəs

## Meanings
1. sparing or moderate in eating and drinking

## Examples
- His abstemious habits kept him fit well into old age.

## Synonyms
- temperate
- moderate
- abstinent
- sober
- austere
- frugal
- self-denying

## Antonyms
- gluttonous
- intemperate
- indulgent
- immoderate
- greedy

## Derived Forms
- abstemiously
- abstemiousness

## Related Forms
- abstain
- abstinence

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: abstēmius
- Root: tēmētum

## Etymology
From Latin abstēmius ('abstaining from wine'), from abs- ('away from') + tēmum (an old word related to tēmētum, 'intoxicating drink').

## AI Etymology
Abstemious comes from Latin abstēmius ('abstaining from wine'), from abs- ('away from') + tēmum (an old word related to tēmētum, 'intoxicating drink'). The historical trail runs through Latin abstēmius and Latin tēmētum. Morphologically, the surface form is analyzable into prefixes, suffixes, compounds, or participial endings that carry part of the history. In modern use it means sparing or moderate in eating and drinking. Derived formations include abstemiously, abstemiousness; related forms include abstain, abstinence.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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