Abstemious…abste-wha? The first thing that stuck out to me
about this word is that it is one of the few that has all the standard vowels
in it (not “y”) in alphabetical order. To look it up in my handy AHD (not
actually small enough to be called handy – it’s the size and weight of a
mid-sized infant), I would find that it is an adjective meaning: eating and
drinking in moderation; characterized by abstinence or moderation. Although it
usually refers to liquor and the like, I could use it in saying that “I ate
abstemiously during thanksgiving.” Note the –ly
on there, as –ly denotes an adverb,
modifying a verb. Adverbs are basically adjectives that didn’t want to be by
nouns anymore, so they grabbed a suffix and slid on over to a verb. If, say, I
wanted to use it as an adjective, I could say that people that don’t drink
alcohol at all have an abstemious way of life.
(words 162)
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