teetotal English · revision 1182

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˌtiːˈtəʊtəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is probably [[total]] with the initial ''t'' repeated for emphasis, as in ''total abstinence'' “with a capital T”.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It may also be based on ''teetotally'' “entirely” (1832), a reduplicated form of ''totally''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of or pledged to total abstinence from alcoholic drink (1834).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The word is said to have been coined in 1833 by Richard Turner, a working man of Preston, England, in a speech urging abstinence from beer as well as spirits;^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) another story says a New York temperance society marked a ''T'' after the signatures of those pledged to total abstinence in 1827, but Etymonline notes there is no contemporary evidence for this.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) The OED favours the British origin.^(Etymonline) In dialect the adjective also means simply absolute or complete (1840).^(OED 1989)^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1832 – ''teetotally'' “entirely”.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1833 – Richard Turner's speech at Preston.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+ * 1834 – the adjective, with ''teetotaler'' and ''teetotalism''.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1839 – verb, to practise total abstinence.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1840 – absolute, complete (dialect).^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Practising or relating to complete [[abstinence]] from [[alcohol|alt=alcoholic]] drinks.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(informal)'' Total; absolute.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To practise or advocate total abstinence from alcohol.^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[teetotally]]

+ * [[teetotaler]]

+ * [[teetotalism]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[total]]

+ * [[teetotum]]

+ * [[temperance]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}