abstention

English

Etymology

First attested in 1521. Borrowed from French abstention, from Late Latin abstēntiō from Latin abstinēō (“withhold, to abstain”)

Pronunciation
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/
  • (US) IPA(key): /æbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/, /əbˈstɛn.ʃn̩/, /æbˈstɛn.t͡ʃn̩/, /əbˈstɛn.t͡ʃn̩/
  • Audio (US)(file)

Noun

abstention (countable and uncountable, plural abstentions)

  1. (obsolete) The act of restraining oneself. [Attested from the early 16th century until the med 17th century.][1]
  2. The act of abstaining; a holding aloof; refraining from. [First attested in the early 17th century.][1]
  3. The act of declining to vote on a particular issue. [First attested in the late 19th century.][1]
  4. Non-participation in the political world; as a country avoiding international affairs.

Translations

References
  1. “abstention” in Lesley Brown, editor-in-chief; William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, editors, The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles, 5th edition, Oxford; New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press, 2002, →ISBN, page 9.

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin abstentiō, abstentiōnem, from Latin abstentus, from abstineō.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ap.stɑ̃.sjɔ̃/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

abstention f (plural abstentions)

  1. abstention

Further reading
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