ABSTAIN
Ab*stain", v. t.
Defn: To hinder; to withhold.
Whether he abstain men from marrying. Milton.
ABSTAINER
Ab*stain"er, n.
Defn: One who abstains; esp., one who abstains from the use of intoxicating liquors.
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.