Hypertext Webster Gateway: "austerity"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Austerity \Aus*ter"i*ty\, n.; pl. {Austerities}. [F.
aust['e]rit['e], L. austerias, fr. austerus. See {Austere}.]
1. Sourness and harshness to the taste. [Obs.] --Horsley.
2. Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness;
harsh discipline.
The austerity of John the Baptist. --Milton.
3. Plainness; freedom from adornment; severe simplicity.
Partly owing to the studied austerity of her dress,
and partly to the lack of demonstration in her
manners. --Hawthorne.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
austerity
n : the trait of great self-denial (especially refraining from
worldly pleasures) [syn: {asceticism}, {nonindulgence}]
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