refrain

verb

1. (archaic, transitive)To hold back, to restrain (someone or something).

   “Refrain thy foot from their path.”

   “The presence even for a moment among a party of debauchees of a woman endued with every quality of modesty and not less severe than beautiful refrained the humorous sallies even of the most licentious but her departure was the signal for an outbreak of ribaldry.”

2. (archaic, reflexive)To show restraint; to hold oneself back.

   “And nowe I saye unto you: refrayne youreselves from these men, and let them alone [...].”

   “As I went down the river, all dissatisfaction at my lot passed away, and by the time Dartmouth came in view I could no longer refrain myself, but threw my cap into the air, and barely caught it from falling overboard as I shouted, "Hurrah for merry England![…]"”

3. (archaic, transitive)To repress (a desire, emotion etc.); to check or curb.
4. (intransitive)To stop oneself from some action or interference; to abstain; to eschew

   “Refrain from these men, and let them alone.”

   “They refrained therefrom [eating flesh] some time after.”

   “July 5, 1731, Jonathan Swift, letter to Vanessa If you knew how I struggle for a little health, what uneasiness I am at in riding and walking, and refraining from every thing agreeable to my taste”

   “I will [...] tell you the story of what has happened to me, if you like, but you must refrain from interruptions.”

5. (rare, regional, transitive)To abstain from (food or drink).

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

noun

1. The chorus or burden of a song repeated at the end of each verse or stanza.

   “For perhaps as much as thirty seconds they kept it up. It was a refrain that was often heard in moments of overwhelming emotion. Partly it was a sort of hymn to the wisdom and majesty of Big Brother, but still more it was an act of self-hypnosis, a deliberate drowning of consciousness by means of rhythmic noise.”

2. (broadly)A much repeated comment, complaint, or saying.