teetotal

English

Etymology

From total[1], the reduplicated tee being an intensifier – “T-total”, 1830s.

Adjective

teetotal (comparative more teetotal, superlative most teetotal)

  1. Abstinent from alcohol; never drinking alcohol.
    Synonyms: on the wagon, straightedge
    Antonyms: alcoholic, dipsomaniac, drunkard
  2. Opposed to the drinking of alcohol.
  3. (dated, emphatic) Total.
    • 1858, Samuel Putnam Avery, The Harp of a Thousand Strings: Or, Laughter for a Lifetime (page 331)
      That's a teetotal lie.

Derived terms
terms derived from teetotal

Translations

See also

Noun

teetotal (plural teetotals)

  1. One who abstains from drinking alcohol.
    • 2004, Andrea Levy, Small Island, London: Review, Chapter Twelve, p. 137,
      Hubert is trying to persuade James, a strict Presbyterian and teetotal, to come into the pub.
    Synonyms: teetotaler, pioneer

References
  1. Teetotalism#Etymology
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