Where does “abstinence” come from?
Abstinence comes from Middle English abstinence, from Old French abstinence, from Latin abstinentia, composed of Latin abs- and the Latin -ia suffix derived from Ancient Greek -ία.
abstinence (English): The act or practice of abstaining, refraining...
Definitions
- The act or practice of abstaining, refraining...
Ancestry of “abstinence”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | abstinence | — |
| 2 | Old French | abstinence | abstinence act or practice of abstaining |
| 3 | Latin | abstinentia | abstinence, self-restraint; fasting; nominative... |
| 4 | Latin | abstinēns | abstaining |
| 5 | Latin | abstineō | to abstain |
| 6 | Latin | ab- | from, away, away from; off; at a distance |
| 7 | Latin | āb | from, away from, out of |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *ab | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | apó | — |