Refrain /(rē̇*frān")/

imp. & p. p. Refrained; p. pr. & vb. n. Refraining

1. To hold back; to restrain; to keep within prescribed bounds; to curb; to govern.

   His reason refraineth not his foul delight or talent.

   Refrain thy foot from their path.

2. To abstain from. [Obs.]

   Who, requiring a remedy for his gout, received no other counsel than to refrain cold drink.

1. To keep one's self from action or interference; to hold aloof; to forbear; to abstain.

   Refrain from these men, and let them alone.

   They refrained therefrom [eating flesh] some time after.

1. The burden of a song; a phrase or verse which recurs at the end of each of the separate stanzas or divisions of a poetic composition.

   We hear the wild refrain.