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Today's Word "abstemious"

Sparing in eating and drinking on

Published in Vocabulary

abstemious \ab-STEE-mee-uhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Sparing in eating and drinking; temperate; abstinent. 2 : Sparingly used or consumed; used with temperance or moderation. 3 : Marked by or spent in abstinence.

"Lucy had suddenly realized she was ravenous and, most unlike her usual abstemious self, had taken two sausages to go with her toast and coffee." -- Carola Dunn, 'A Mourning Wedding'

 

Abstemious comes from Latin abstemius, from ab-, abs-, "away from" + the root of temetum, "intoxicating drink."


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