temperance

[tem-per-uh ns, tem-pruh ns]

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noun

moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.

habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion, especially in the use of alcoholic liquors.

total abstinence from alcoholic liquors.

Origin of temperance

1200–50; Middle English temperaunce < Anglo-French < Latin temperantia self-control. See temper, -ance

Related formsan·ti·tem·per·ance, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for temperance

control, stoicism, self-denial, measure, mortification, teetotalism, abstemiousness, continence, soberness, discretion, self-control, frugality, sobriety, restraint, sacrifice, prudence, prohibition, moderation, austerity, constraint

Examples from the Web for temperance

Contemporary Examples of temperance

More importantly, Longworth viewed wine as a critical piece of the temperance movement.
America’s First Great Wine…Made in 1842
Jordan Salcito
November 23, 2013
Resistance to “The Star-Spangled Banner” also flared among blacks, pacifists, and advocates of temperance.
Star-Spangled Confederates: How Southern Sympathizers Decided Our National Anthem
Jefferson Morley
July 4, 2013

Historical Examples of temperance

This from the leader of the temperance movement in Radville?
The Fortune Hunter
Louis Joseph Vance
Economy may be styled the daughter of Prudence, the sister of Temperance, and the mother of Liberty.
Self-Help
Samuel Smiles
Temperance in diet and exercise, with frequent washing and bathing, are the best means of preserving a healthful countenance.
The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches,
Mary Eaton
But let me ask you another question: Has excess of pleasure any affinity to temperance?
The Republic
Plato
Certainly, he said, that is the true account of temperance whether in the State or individual.
The Republic
Plato

British Dictionary definitions for temperance

temperance

noun

restraint or moderation, esp in yielding to one's appetites or desires

abstinence from alcoholic drink

Word Origin for temperance

C14: from Latin temperantia, from temperāre to regulate

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for temperance

mid-14c., "self-restraint, moderation," from Anglo-French temperaunce (mid-13c.), from Latin temperantia "moderation," from temperans, present participle of temperare "to moderate" (see temper). Latin temperantia was used by Cicero to translate Greek sophrosyne "moderation." In English, temperance was used to render Latin continentia or abstinentia, specifically in reference to drinking alcohol and eating; hence by early 1800s it came to mean "abstinence from alcoholic drink."

temperance in Medicine

temperance

[tĕm′pər-əns, tĕm′prəns]

n.

Moderation and self-restraint, as in behavior or expression.

Restraint in the use of or abstinence from alcoholic liquors.