teetotal

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tiːˈtəʊtəl/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Adjective

teetotal (comparative more teetotal, superlative most teetotal)

1. Abstinent from alcohol; never drinking alcohol.

   Synonyms: on the wagon, straightedge

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

• teetotaller, teetotaler
• teetotally
• teetotalling
• teetotalism

Translations

abstinent from alcohol

• Bulgarian: въздържателен (vǎzdǎržatelen)
• Estonian: karske (et)
• Finnish: raivoraitis (fi)
• French: abstinent (fr)
• German: gänzlich enthaltsam, völlig abstinent
• Italian: astemio (it)
• Mandarin: 滴酒不沾的
• Russian: тре́звенник (ru) m (trézvennik), тре́звенница (ru) f (trézvennica)
• Spanish: abstemio (es)
• Welsh: llwyrymwrthodol, dirwestol

opposed to the drinking of alcohol

• Finnish: raivoraitis (fi)
• Spanish: abstemio (es)
• Welsh: llwyrymwrthodol, dirwestol

total

• Spanish: total (es)

See also

• abstain
• temperance

Noun

teetotal (plural teetotals)

1. One who abstains from drinking alcohol.

   Synonyms: teetotaler, pioneer

   Antonyms: alcoholic, dipsomaniac, drunkard

   • 2004, Andrea Levy, chapter 12, in Small Island‎^[1], London: Review, page 137:

     Hubert is trying to persuade James, a strict Presbyterian and teetotal, to come into the pub.

Translations

Translations

• Bulgarian: въздържател (bg) m (vǎzdǎržatel)
• Danish: afholdsmand (da) c