abstemious

/ab-ˈstē-mē-əs/

borrowed from Latin abstēmius "refraining from wine, careful with one's means," from abs- (variant of ab- ab-c- and t-) + -tēmius, from a base tēm- "intoxicating" (also in tēmētum "intoxicating beverage," tēmulentus "drunken"); if going back to an Indo-European root *temH-, akin to Sanskrit tāmyati "(he/she) is stunned, loses consciousness, is exhausted," tamayati "(he/she) chokes (someone)," Armenian tʿmrim "(he/she) is stunned" (perhaps going back to *tēmiro-)

adjective

  1. marked by restraint especially in the eating of food or drinking of alcohol; also : reflecting such restraint

an abstemious drinker