abstainern.

c1475 (c1445) R. Pecock Donet (1921) 195 (MED) To þe forberer or absteyner is excludid ful greet occasioun of leccherye.

a1634 W. Austin Devotionis Augustinianæ Flamma (1635) 105 The End the true Abstainer tends to, is the glory of his God, and the good of his owne soule, and of his Neighbour.

1683 T. Tryon Way to Health 407 The holy Men and Prophets..were strict Abstainers, and separated themselves from the Uncleannesses, Oppressions and Violencies that the superfluous worldly Belly-Gods do subject themselves unto.

1729 T. Stackhouse Compl. Body Divinity iii. ii. 338 The Abstainers from this Kind of Food, 'tis certain, give no Offence to any Body.

1838 Botanico-Med. Recorder (Columbus, Ohio) 28 Dec. 109/2 Abstainers from all that profits neither your physical, moral nor spiritual well-being.

1868 M. Farningham Life Sketches (ed. 2) 32 All abstainers from evil must practise self-denial.

1907 Sc. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. June 482 None of the flesh-eaters reached half an hour [of holding out their arms], but 15 of the 32 abstainers exceeded that limit.

1998 Meat Trades Jrnl. 20 May 3/1 There are eight million red meat abstainers, a 21 per cent increase in two years.

2006 J. L. Mullaney Everybody is not doing It Introd. 13 The specific sites of abstinence (e.g., virginity, recovery from addiction, vegetarianism),..the motivations behind abstaining, and what leads to ‘successful’ abstainers.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Amos ii. C But ye gaue the absteyners wyne to drynke [Wycliffite Naȝareys, 1611 Nazarites].

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Lament. iv. 7 Hir absteyners (or Nazarees) were whyter then y^e snowe or mylke.

1852 Literary World (N.Y.) 3 Apr. 247/2 Universal suffrage always produces the largest amount of abstainers.

1894 Westm. Gaz. 20 Nov. 1/2 It is the indifferents, the abstainers, the waverers, and the wobblers who decide elections.

1922 Q. Rev. Oct. 427 The middle course of a sulky refusal to vote one way or the other does not free the abstainer from his moral responsibility for what is going on.

1981 S. Koss Rise & Fall Polit. Press in Brit. II. v. 182 His prognosis proved wrong, for the Bill was carried through the Lords with the help of ‘ratters’ and abstainers.

2006 R. Johnston & C. Pattie Putting Voters in their Place vii. 262 Those who live with abstainers are themselves more likely than normal to abstain: if one's cohabitees do not vote, that reduces the chances of voting oneself.

1854 H. Miller My Schools & Schoolmasters viii. 152 Though never a strict abstainer,..for whole twelvemonths together..I did not consume half-a-dozen glasses of ardent spirits.

1879 W. Black Macleod of Dare xxxvi. 322 If they ever put up an asylum in Mull, it will be a lunatic asylum for incurable abstainers.

1916 W. McFee Casuals of Sea iii. 295 Even people who are strict abstainers in that part of the world have a certain familiarity with licenced premises.

1981 D. W. Goodwin Alcoholism iv. 24 For ages 65 years and older, abstainers exceed drinkers in both sexes.

2004 Global Status Rep. Alcohol (W.H.O.) 3 Drinking patterns (abstainers, high risk drinking and heavy episodic drinking) [etc.].