teetotal

views updated May 09 2018

tee·to·tal / ˈtēˌtōtl/ • adj. choosing or characterized by abstinence from alcohol: a teetotal lifestyle.DERIVATIVES: tee·to·tal·ism / -ˌizəm/ n.

teetotal

views updated May 17 2018

teetotal pert. to total abstinence. XIX. Said to have been first used by one Richard Turner, of Preston, Lancashire, about September 1833, in a speech advocating total abstinence from intoxicating liquors, in preference to abstinence from ardent spirits only. Perh. based on tee-totally wholly, entirely (XIX; U.S.), a strengthened form of totally (quasi T-totally).

teetotal

views updated May 21 2018

teetotal Total abstinence from alcohol, advocated by Richard Turner in a speech in Preston (Lancs) in 1833; he stammered over the word ‘total’.