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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 16, 2009 is:
abstemious \ab-STEE-mee-us\ adjective
: marked by restraint especially in the consumption of food or alcohol; also : reflecting such restraint
Examples:
Anthony's midlife heart attack opened his eyes to the importance of taking care of his body and turned him to a more abstemious and healthful lifestyle.
Did you know?
"Abstemious" and "abstain" look alike, and both have meanings involving self-restraint or self-denial. So they must both come from the same root, right? Yes and no. Both get their start from the Latin prefix "abs-," meaning "from" or "away," but "abstain" traces to "abs-" plus the Latin verb "tenēre" (meaning "to hold"), while "abstemious" gets its "-temious" from a suffix akin to the Latin noun "temetum," meaning "intoxicating drink."
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