teetotaler
noun
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A person who abstains from alcohol might choose tea as his or her alternative beverage, but the word teetotaler has nothing to do with tea. More likely, the "tee" that begins the word teetotal is a reduplication of the letter "t" that begins total, emphasizing that one has pledged total abstinence. In the early 1800s, tee-total and tee-totally were used to intensify total and totally, much the way we now might say, "I'm tired with a capital T." "I am now … wholly, solely, and teetotally absorbed in Wayne's business," wrote the folklorist Parson Weems in an 1807 letter. Teetotal and teetotaler first appeared with their current meanings in 1834, eight years after the formation of the American Temperance Society.
Examples of teetotaler in a Sentence
Ryan Slattery, Travel + Leisure, 21 Oct. 2024
After my dad, Frank Wilson, moved away from his career as one of the original Motown hitmakers, writing and producing some of the greatest Motown songs of all time, to become a minister, my parents became teetotalers.
—Fawn Weaver, TIME, 3 July 2024
There was music and a dry reception in the church basement, my grandfather being a teetotaler.
—Minrose Gwin, New York Times, 18 May 2024
Always prepared, Schrader brought his own bottle of wine and corkscrew to a table of teetotalers.
—Stephen Rodrick, Variety, 9 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for teetotaler 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'teetotaler.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Teetotaler.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/teetotaler. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
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