Refraining from indulging in something, especially food, drink, or pleasure; showing self-restraint or moderation.
From Latin 'abstinens' (holding back, refraining), derived from 'abstinere' (to hold back). The word entered Middle English through ecclesiastical texts by the 13th century and became associated with virtue and discipline.
Historians have discovered that early Christian monks who practiced strict abstinence developed sophisticated theological arguments about why suffering the body was spiritually beneficial—their ideas literally shaped Western philosophy about discipline and self-control.
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