English
abstemious
Abstemious comes from Latin abstēmius ‘abstaining from wine’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstēmius‘abstaining from wine’
- Englishearliest quotation 1650abstemious
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEabstēmius‘abstaining from wine’
- Englishearliest quotation 1650abstemious
Earliest quotation: 1650, Thomas Browne, Of the Cameleon: “It cannot be denied it [the chameleon] is (if…”
A compound of abs ‘from’ + tēmētum ‘intoxicating drink, especially strong mead or…’
Proto-Indo-European *temH- ‘dark’
Proto-Indo-European *tēmH- ‘intoxication’
Latin tēmētum ‘intoxicating drink, especially strong mead or wine’
Every English word from Latin abstēmius
Today it means
adj Refraining from freely consuming food or strong drink; sparing in diet; abstinent, temperate.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin abstēmius / abstemious