English → Latin
“abstain” in Latin
abstineōto abstain; to keep, stay off or away, hold at a distance, avoid; to allow, lettemperōto divide duly, qualify, temper, moderate; to combine, compound or blend properly; to rule, regulate, govern, manage, arproeliuma battle, combat, conflict; warriors taken collectively; a contest, strife
The English word abstain itself goes back to Latin teneō, through abstineō.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
abstain
abstinere or se abstinere (a) re: se continere a re (to hold one’s self back from anything): temperare sibi quominus, etc., temperare (sibi) ab aliqua re (restrain one’s self: not temperare alicui rei. which is, to restrain anything within limits. Temperare aliqua re is not Latin, for in Liv., 30, 20, risu is the dative). To abstain from food, se abstine cibo; from fighting, supersedere pugna or proelio; from tears, lacrimas tenere, temperare a lacrimis (Verg.: temperare lacrimas, to moderate them, Liv.); from laughter, risum tenere or continere; from a person’s society, alicujus aditum sermonemque defugere; from committing injury and wrong, ab injuria atque maleficio temperare, or se prohibere. Not to be able to abstain from, sibi temperare or se continere non posse (followed by quin): a se impetrare non posse quin.
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for abstain?
- The usual Latin words for “abstain” are abstineō, temperō, proelium. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.