austerity

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English austerite,^[2] borrowed from Old French austerite (“severity, harshness, asceticism, sternness”),^[3][4][5][6] and, according to Etymonline, also directly borrowed from Latin austēritās (“bitterness, astringency, severity, strictness”),^[4][3] from austērus (“sour, harsh; strict, severe”) and the suffix -tās.^[3][6][5] The Latin adjective is from Ancient Greek αὐστηρός (austērós, “bitter, harsh”), said especially of fruits and wines that make the tongue dry,^[4][3] from Proto-Indo-European *saus- (“dry”), the root of sere.^[4] The Old French noun is recorded in the 13th century,^[3] and the Anglo-Norman one from the mid-13th century in the senses harshness, severity and asceticism.^[7] The word also has cognates in Catalan austeritat, Spanish austeridad, Portuguese austeridade and Italian austerità.^[3] It is formed like austere with the suffix -ity.^[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Harshness, sternness: before 1425, in the Prick of Conscience (composed before 1400), of the severity that Christ will show to sinners on Judgement Day.^[3][2] Etymonline dates the word to the mid-14th century.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From about 1450 the word was used of the rigour of monastic discipline, then of self-denial and asceticism in general;^[2][3] in the plural, austerities were severe ascetic practices from 1579.^[3][4] In 1581 it was first used for severe simplicity, the lack of luxury or ornament,^[3][9] and in the 18th century for the harshness of weather or landscape.^[3] A sense referring to a sour or astringent taste, like that of the Latin word, was used from 1634 to 1864.^[3] Johnson (1755) gave "severity; mortified life; strictness", quoting Ben Jonson's "sour austerity".^[10] The economic sense, restraint in public spending, is first recorded in 1937, in a letter by Keynes in The Times,^[3] and during the Second World War it was applied to national policies that cut non-essentials.^[4][9] This sense spread from English to French austérité (1945), Italian austerità (1947) and German, first in the English form (1947) and now usually as Austerität.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1425 – sternness, harshness.^[3][2]
• c. 1450 – severity of monastic discipline; asceticism.^[2][3]
• 1579 – in the plural, ascetic practices.^[3]
• 1581 – severe simplicity, lack of luxury or ornament.^[3][9]
• 1634 – sourness of taste (obsolete after 1864).^[3][9]
• 1742 – harshness of weather or landscape.^[3]
• 1937 – restraint in public spending.^[3][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. Strict control of public spending, especially a government programme of spending cuts to reduce a deficit: years of austerity after the financial crisis; also used before another noun: an austerity package.^[3][11]
2. Sternness or severity of manner or appearance.^[6][11][3]
3. Severe simplicity; the lack of luxury, comfort or ornament: the austerity of the monks' cells.^[3][11][6]
4. Strict self-denial; asceticism; in the plural, austere habits or practices.^[3][11][6]
5. Harshness or bleakness of weather or landscape.^[3]

Related words

• austere
• sere

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins