Abstentious

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /æbˈstɛn.ʃəs/

Definitions

1. Characterized by restraint in eating and drinking, or marked by self-denial and moderation in the consumption of food and beverages
2. Self-restrained in the pursuit of pleasures, particularly concerning food and drink, denoting a lifestyle choices that emphasize moderation and avoidance of excess
3. Describing a quality of exercising abstinence, especially in relation to dietary habits, suggesting a commitment to limit indulgence in foods and beverages
4. Practicing moderation and restraint in matters of diet and drink, often avoiding excess and indulgent habits in eating and drinking rituals

Etymology: Abstentious is a plain formation: it takes the noun "abstention" and adds the suffix "-ous", meaning "full of" or "characterised by". The noun itself is built on the Latin verb "abstinere", "to hold back" or "to refrain", which is the source of the English verb "abstain". The sense of the adjective is therefore about holding oneself back, and in the case of this word, holding back from food, drink and other indulgences. The suffix has a longer trail than the word it sits on. It descends from Latin "-osus", which passed into Old French as "-us" and then reached Middle English as "-ous", so English speakers have been adding it to nouns for many centuries. That is why the same ending appears in words as different as "joyous" and "gaseous". Here it attaches to a noun that is itself a fairly modern-sounding formation, so the word reads as a deliberate, slightly formal label for moderation.