Where does “abstention” come from?
Abstention comes from French abstention, derived from Late Latin abstentio, the noun form of Latin abstentus, meaning "abstained," from Latin ab- "away" combined with the Proto-Indo-European root ten- "to stretch or hold."
abstention (English): The act of restraining oneself; The act of...
Definitions
- The act of restraining oneself; The act of...
Ancestry of “abstention”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | abstention | abstention |
| 2 | Late Latin | abstentio | — |
| 3 | Latin | -tiō | tion, -ation, -ing |
| 4 | Latin | dissertātiō | (spoken) dissertation, discourse, disquisition |
| 5 | Latin | dissertus | arranged, disposed; explained |
| 6 | Latin | disserere | second-person singular future passive indicative... |
| 7 | Latin | dis- | asunder, apart, in two; reversal, removal;... |
| 8 | Latin | calceus | shoe |
| 9 | Latin | calx | limestone; chalk; the finish line |
| 10 | Ancient Greek | χάλιξ | small stone, pebble; gravel, rubble |