entry
austere
/ɔːˈstɪər/Severe, plain, and without indulgence or decoration
From Proto-Indo-European saus (dry).
from PIE root *saus- "dry" (see sere (adj.)).
from Latin austerus "dry, harsh, sour, tart,"
from Old French austere "strict, severe, harsh, cruel" (13c., Modern French austère ) and directly
Word Ancestry
from PIE root *saus- "dry" (see sere (adj.)).
from Latin austerus "dry, harsh, sour, tart,"
from Old French austere "strict, severe, harsh, cruel" (13c., Modern French austère ) and directly
Imagine biting an underripe fruit and feeling your mouth seize up: that drying, puckering sensation is the ancient heart of “austere.” Greek speakers used αὐστηρός for bitter or astringent fruits and wines before the word migrated into Latin as austerus and then into French. By the early 14th century, English was using austere for people and behavior that felt harsh, grim, or unforgiving; by the 1590s, it could also describe a room stripped of ornament and luxury. The word’s history therefore runs from a dry tongue to a bare monastery cell—a surprisingly physical route into moral severity. Do not confuse its atmosphere with that of “stoic”: Stoicism came from Zeno’s teaching porch, the Stoa Poikile in Athens, around the late fourth century BCE, while austere began with the sensation of dryness.
The Story
Imagine biting an underripe fruit and feeling your mouth seize up: that drying, puckering sensation is the ancient heart of “austere.” Greek speakers used αὐστηρός for bitter or astringent fruits and wines before the word migrated into Latin as austerus and then into French. By the early 14th century, English was using austere for people and behavior that felt harsh, grim, or unforgiving; by the 1590s, it could also describe a room stripped of ornament and luxury. The word’s history therefore runs from a dry tongue to a bare monastery cell—a surprisingly physical route into moral severity. Do not confuse its atmosphere with that of “stoic”: Stoicism came from Zeno’s teaching porch, the Stoa Poikile in Athens, around the late fourth century BCE, while austere began with the sensation of dryness.
Kin & Kindred
From 'saus'·dry; causing a dry or harsh sensation
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary