Where does “abstinent” come from?

Abstinent comes from Middle English abstinent, from Old French abstinent, from Latin abstinens, the present participle of abstinere meaning "to refrain from," formed from ab- "away" and tenere "to hold."

abstinent (English): Refraining from indulgence, especially from the...

Definitions

  1. Refraining from indulgence, especially from the...

Ancestry of “abstinent”, step by step

abstinent traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English abstinent

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishabstinent—
2Old Frenchabstinentabstinent
3Latinabstinēnsabstaining
4Latinabstineōto abstain
5Latinab-from, away, away from; off; at a distance
6Latinābfrom, away from, out of
7Proto-Germanic*ab—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanapó—

via Middle English abstynent

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishabstynent—
2Germanabstinentabstinent, teetotal
Every word from Proto-Indo-European apó →