1. Moderation and self-restraint, as in behavior or expression: Dr. Jones told Jim that adhering to the new diet to lose weight required temperance in eating a balanced diet and the amounts should be sensible and not in excess.
2. Restraint in the use of or abstinence from alcoholic liquors: At first, temperance in the U.S. encouraged moderation in drinking, but it turned out to be prohibited entirely and finally this constitutional amendment was repealed in 1933.
3. Etymology: from Latin temperare, "to restrain oneself", which has come through into the derivatives temperance and temperate.