This dates back to the early years of the organisation, and the missionary work among alcoholics. The idea that Turner made an impassioned speech on total abstinence after wandering into a meeting one day seems to be an invention. “We agree to abstain from all liquors of an intoxicating quality whether ale, porter, wine or ardent spirits, except as medicine.” I was certainly not under the influence of strong drink, for I was then, as I have been for forty-nine years, a teetotaler.
Popular in Wordplay
Another quite silly, origin claim is that the “tee” started as “tea” and referred to drinking tea (or other beverages) instead of alcohol. More likely, teetotal was simply a misspelling of teetotal, which caused people to believe that it had something to do with tea. Members of temperance organizations sang songs, organized marches to shut down saloons or pass prohibition laws, circulated pamphlets about the cause, and gave speeches on the moral problems caused by drinking. Teetotalism was embraced by some religious groups and moral reformers as the answer to the problems of poverty, unemployment or work absenteeism, declining church attendance, crime, and domestic violence. It was encouraged among the working class, whereas moderation was more readily accepted among the upper classes, who could afford wine. So, a teetotaler wasn’t someone who “doesn’t drink” as much as it is someone who “doesn’t drink distilled spirits, or wine, or beer, or anything else.” You could still “practice temperance without being a teetotaler.
Teetotalism
In history, women becoming teetotallers was often an expression of religious values, or was based on general social reform principles. In the modern world, some women become teetotallers for such reasons, and others because of a past history of alcoholism or alcohol abuse. Studies in the late 2010s music therapy and addiction indicated a decline in youth drinking in Western countries, with more than one-fourth of English youth in their mid-teens to mid-20s and nearly three-tenths of college-age Americans claiming total abstinence. Informal annual events such as “Dry January” or “Sober October” also encourage participants to abstain from alcohol and promote their abstinence on social media.
In other words, someone, or more than one person, may have referred to them as teetotalers, using a known word, and only later was it supposed that this came about because of the “T” written on the pledge rolls. Whether this is true, or whether the word came about independently at around the same time in Both England and U.S., the evidence cannot show. In other words, temperance began as a movement calling for abstinence from hard liquors like whiskey, rum, gin, etc. Wine, beer, and cider were often accepted and even recommended as a good substitute for hard spirits.
Why Was the Word Teetotal So Important To Temperance?
Later, attitudes changed and wine, beer, and cider came to be seen as just as much of a problem as spirits. Therefore the temperance movement began to call for total abstinence from all alcohol-containing beverages. You could still practice moderation, and only cut out spirits, but you were encouraged to be a teetotaler. 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.
- Instead, the word “teetotal” or “tee-total” appears in a great many publications from 1830 onward.
- Turner may have used the word teetotal often, helping it to become more widespread, or it may have already been in use by the temperance movement, and Turner helped to cement it.
- That teetotal was a long-established Lancashire term was backed up by other contemporaries.
- Still another claim is that Turner didn’t invent the word, but that it was an archaic word from the Lancashire dialect.
- There are several common origin stories, which I will report here along with some speculation as to the credibility to each one.
Teetotalism, the practice or promotion of total abstinence from alcoholic drinks. It became popular as part of the temperance movement in the early 19th century in Great Britain and North America. Unlike temperance advocates, who promoted moderation in alcohol consumption or abstention solely from hard liquor (distilled spirits), people who practice teetotalism, known as teetotalers, abstain from all alcohol, including beer and wine. Some common reasons for choosing teetotalism are psychological, religious, health,[12] medical, philosophical, social, political, past alcoholism, or simply preference. When at drinking establishments, teetotalers (or teetotallers) either abstain from drinking totally or consume non-alcoholic beverages such as water, juice, tea, coffee, non-alcoholic soft drinks, virgin drinks, mocktails, and alcohol-free beer.
“T” After Your Name
Turner may have used the word teetotal often, helping it to become more widespread, or it may have already been in use by the temperance movement, and Turner helped to cement it. Instead, Turner was induced to sign the pledge and then later became a well-known temperance advocate and speaker, who probably made many impassioned speeches. It is sometimes claimed that he put the “tee” at the beginning for the general reason described above, as emphasis. Still another claim is that Turner didn’t invent the word, but that it was an archaic word from the Lancashire dialect. Uniformed members of the Salvation Army (“soldiers” and “officers”) make a promise on joining the movement to observe lifelong abstinence from alcohol.
There are several common origin stories, which I will report here along with some speculation as to the credibility to each one. I make no claims to knowing the exact origin of the word, and one or more of these stories may have some truth in them. The term was in use as early as 1836 when an explanation of it as meaning “total abstainer” appeared in print.
From there, the term came to be used more generally, for anyone who voluntarily committed to abstinence, or simply for a nondrinker. They listened to some foolish women’s cackle—teetotal cant, I call it—and refused me anything. A friend of his had been dining with a man who was both a teetotaler and a non-smoker.
However, Dr. F. R. Lees says that Turner did not coin the term, but only applied it. Lees is a source of the “archaic usage” claim and says that Turner was using a term that had been in use in Ireland and Lancashire for a hundred years, and which could be found in the literature of England long before Turner used it. That teetotal was a long-established Lancashire term was backed up by other contemporaries. Although “to teetotal” (t total, t-total) simply means “to never drink,” it meant something more specific when it first came to be used.
Also, some Hindu and Buddhist sects, and some Mennonite and Pentecostal groups. Methodists in English and American history often taught abstinence but rarely do that currently. In the Victorian era, many in both the Evangelical and Unitarian movements taught at least restraint, if not temperance and teetotalling. This is a list of notable figures who practiced teetotalism and were public advocates for temperance, teetotalism, or both. To be included in this list, individuals must be well-known for their abstention from alcohol, their advocacy efforts, or both.Individuals whose abstention from alcohol is not a defining characteristic or feature of their notability are intentionally excluded. Instead, it seems more likely that it was an old term of a type known as a “republicate.” Republication means to repeat sounds in a word, or similar sounds, famous people who died from alcoholism often as a means to emphasize them.
Stephen Morley was the editor of the “Mowbray Phoenix,” a teetotaler, a vegetarian, a believer in moral force. In Dublin, the Pioneer Total Abstinence Association of the Sacred Heart (Pioneers) was founded in 1898 by another priest, James Cullen. My poor wife runs teetotal salons in Chelsea on the strength of my name. The teetotal attitude of mind and the quarrels it aroused very properly disgusted Kingsley.
Is Teetotal a Republicate Term?
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. According to Jewell, “By constantly explaining the T was for Total, we were directly called the T-totalers, and this was the origin of the word five years before it was coined in England.” CTC does concede that the term may have been popularized in England, though. These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘teetotal.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Teetotal and teetotaler first appeared with their current meanings in 1834, eight years after the formation of the American Temperance Society. In the 19th century, the Preston Temperance Society in England and, later, the American Temperance Union encouraged a pledge of abstinence from intoxicating liquor, as part of the temperance movement. Those who had signed the pledge were asked to use a T is baclofen addicting with their signature to mean “total abstinence.” The T plus the “total” led to those who’d signed the pledge being called T-totallers or teetotallers. Whereas many temperance groups lobbied for prohibition, the Washington Temperance Society, whose members were known as the Washingtonians, emphasized individual reform over societal reform.
Whether it was an old term by the time Turner used it, we can say that it is almost beyond doubt that he did NOT invent it. Here, we can use evidence from the printed word after around 1830 to 1835. Turner spoke of “signing the pledge.” Stories are also told that Temperance Societies would have people sign moderation pledges or total pledges. Those taking the total pledge would place a “T” after their name so that they became known as T-totalers, and later, teetotalers. At the beginning of the temperance movement, most temperance societies didn’t see anything wrong with wine, beer, or cider. Assembly of God, Baha’i, Christian Science, Islam, Jainism, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS. also known as the Mormon Church), Seventh-day Adventist Church, the Church of Christ, Sikhism, Salvation Army.