Ab‐ste″mi‐ous (�), a. [L. abstemius; ab, abs + root of temetum intoxicating drink.] 1. Abstaining from wine.
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.
Such is the virtue of the abstemious well.
Dryden.