abzˈtēmēəs, əb-, -bˈst- adjective
Etymology: Latin abstemius, from abs- (variant of ab- ab- (I)) + -temius (from temetum mead, wine, intoxicating beverage); akin to German dämlich stupid, silly, Old Norse thām mugginess, Old Irish tām death, Sanskrit tāmyati he becomes stunned, exhausted, and perhaps to Latin tenebrae darkness — more at temerity
1. : sparing in eating and drinking
the pleasures of the table, never of much consequence to one naturally abstemious — John Galsworthy
he was not a teetotaler, but abstemious — A.W.Long
: generally refraining from indulgence of pleasures and cravings
the most abstemious of men … he held old-fashioned and rather puritanical views — Virginia Woolf
: abstinent
2. : used with or in conformity with temperance or moderation : marked by abstinence
the Roman Empire appropriated far more energy than Greece, with its sparse abstemious dietary — Lewis Mumford
• ab·ste·mi·ous·ly adverb
• ab·ste·mi·ous·ness noun -es