BharatNotes Temperance
noun (uncountable)Usage in a UPSC answer
Gandhian ethics held that temperance in personal consumption was not merely a private virtue but a political act — by voluntarily limiting desire, the individual withdrew complicity from an exploitative economic order built on artificial scarcity.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
temperate (adjective), temperately (adverb), intemperance (noun), intemperate (adjective), temper (noun/verb)
Root
Latin temperantia = moderation; temperare = to mix in due proportions, restrain
Etymology
From Latin temperantia, from temperare (to mix proportionately, to moderate), related to tempus (time, proper period) — suggesting the right measure at the right time. The word entered English in the 14th century via Old French. In antiquity, temperantia was Cicero's Latin rendering of the Greek sophrosyne (soundness of mind, self-control). From the 19th century, the word was also applied to the temperance movement, which sought moderation or abstinence from alcohol.
Memory Hook
TEMPERANCE = TEMPERING: A blacksmith TEMPERS steel by controlling heat — not too much, not too little — to achieve the right strength. Temperance is tempering your own desires: controlling the heat of passion to the right measure. The word 'temper' literally means to mix in due proportion.
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