Hypertext Webster Gateway: "abstinence"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Abstinence \Ab"sti*nence\, n. [F. abstinence, L. abstinentia,
fr. abstinere. See {Abstain}.]
1. The act or practice of abstaining; voluntary forbearance
of any action, especially the refraining from an
indulgence of appetite, or from customary gratifications
of animal or sensual propensities. Specifically, the
practice of abstaining from intoxicating beverages, --
called also {total abstinence}.
The abstinence from a present pleasure that offers
itself is a pain, nay, oftentimes, a very great one.
--Locke.
2. The practice of self-denial by depriving one's self of
certain kinds of food or drink, especially of meat.
Penance, fasts, and abstinence, To punish bodies for
the soul's offense. --Dryden.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
abstinence
n 1: the trait of abstaining (especially from alcohol) [syn: {abstention}]
2: act or practice of refraining from indulging an appetite
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