abstention

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

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

abstention (countable and uncountable, plural abstentions)

1. (obsolete) The act of restraining oneself.
2. The act of abstaining or refraining (from).

   abstention from alcohol

   abstention from sex

3. The act of declining to vote on a particular issue.

   There were five abstentions in the vote.

4. Non-participation in the political world; as a country avoiding international affairs.

• abstinence

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

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

• IPA^(key): /ap.stɑ̃.sjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

abstention f (plural abstentions)

1. abstention

• abstenir
• abstinence

• → English: abstention

• “abstention”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.