Category:Abstemious

Ab*ste"mi*ous, a. Etym: [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.