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austeritas

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word austeritas

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1st century AD, Columella
Ultimate origin
Latin austērus
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin austerus
Latin austeritas

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [au̯sˈteː.rɪ.taːs][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [au̯sˈtɛː.ri.tas][1]

Forms

austēritās f (genitive austēritātis); third declension[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin austērus (“sour, harsh; severe”) + -tās.[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLL finds it from the younger Seneca and Columella on;[3] Lewis & Short think it perhaps not earlier than the age of Augustus.[4] Columella uses it of the sourness of grapes that never sweeten.[2]

Semantic evolution

Pliny the Elder uses it of the harsh taste of wine, onions and pitch, and of colour, for a dark, sombre tone that tones down bright pigments.[4][2] Figuratively it is sternness: Quintilian wants a teacher's strictness not to be gloomy, and Pliny the Younger uses it in a letter.[2][4] The Vulgate has it of ruling harshly.[4] In Ecclesiastical Latin it is austerity or rigour,[5] and in medieval Latin also steadiness or strength.[6]

Timeline

  • 1st century AD – Columella uses it of the sourness of grapes.[2][7]
  • 23/24–79 AD – Pliny the Elder uses it of taste and of colour.[4][7]
  • c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of a teacher's strictness.[2][7]
  • 390–406 AD – The Vulgate uses it of harsh rule.[4][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Sourness, bitterness, astringency; of weather, rigour.[2][4]
  2. Of colour, sombreness, depth.[2][4]
  3. Severity, strictness, sternness, austerity.[2][4][5]
  4. (Medieval Latin) Steadiness, strength.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Thesaurus linguae Latinae (1900–), Leipzig: Teubner; Berlin: De Gruyter; open-access ed., Munich: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  6. ^ a b Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill
  7. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Austeritas.” Etymologically, 20 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/austeritas. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·