Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1600-1700
Language: Latin
Origin: abstemius, from abs- 'away' + temetum 'strong drink'

abstemious

 adjective
     
ab‧ste‧mi‧ous formal
careful not to have too much food, drink etc
—abstemiousness noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary