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temperance - 6 dictionary results

tem⋅per⋅ance

  [tem-per-uhns, tem-pruhns]
Use temperance in a Sentence
–noun
1. moderation or self-restraint in action, statement, etc.; self-control.
2. habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion, esp. in the use of alcoholic liquors.
3. total abstinence from alcoholic liquors.
Origin:
1200–50; ME temperaunce < AF < L temperantia self-control. See temper, -ance
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tem·per·ance   (těm'pər-əns, těm'prəns)   
n.  
  1. Moderation and self-restraint, as in behavior or expression.
  2. Restraint in the use of or abstinence from alcoholic liquors. See Synonyms at abstinence.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Temperance

Tem"per*ance\, n. [L. temperantia: cf. F. temp['e]rance. See Temper, v. t.]

1. Habitual moderation in regard to the indulgence of the natural appetites and passions; restrained or moderate indulgence; moderation; as, temperance in eating and drinking; temperance in the indulgence of joy or mirth; specifically, moderation, and sometimes abstinence, in respect to using intoxicating liquors.

2. Moderation of passion; patience; calmness; sedateness. [R.] "A gentleman of all temperance." --Shak.

He calmed his wrath with goodly temperance. --Spenser.

3. State with regard to heat or cold; temperature. [Obs.] "Tender and delicate temperance." --Shak.

Temperance society, an association formed for the purpose of diminishing or stopping the use of alcoholic liquors as a beverage.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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temperance 
c.1340, "self-restraint, moderation," from Anglo-Fr. temperaunce (c.1250), from L. temperantia "moderation," from temperans, prp. of temperare "to moderate" (see temper). L. temperantia was used by Cicero to translate Gk. sophrosyne "moderation." In Eng., temperance was used to render L. continentia or abstinentia, specifically in reference to drinking alcohol and eating; hence by early 1800s it came to mean "abstinence from alcoholic drink."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: tem·per·ance
Pronunciation: 'tem-p(&-)r&n(t)s, -p&rn(t)s
Function: noun
: habitual moderation in the indulgence of theappetites or passions temperance —Havelock Ellis>; specifically : moderation in or abstinence from the use of intoxicatingdrink
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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temperance tem·per·ance (těm'pər-əns, těm'prəns)
n.

  1. Moderation and self-restraint, as in behavior or expression.
  2. Restraint in the use of or abstinence from alcoholic liquors.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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