In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
AUSTERITY
austerity, asceticism, nonindulgence
(noun) the trait of great self-denial (especially refraining from worldly pleasures)
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Noun
austerity (countable and uncountable, plural austerities)
Severity of manners or life; extreme rigor or strictness; harsh discipline.
Freedom from adornment; plainness; severe simplicity.
(economics) A policy of deficit-cutting, which by definition requires lower spending, higher taxes, or both.
(obsolete) Sourness and harshness to the taste.
Antonyms
• (severity of manners or life): comfort
Source: Wiktionary
Aus*ter"i*ty, n.; pl. Austplwies (. Etym: [F. austérité, 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
3 May 2025
DESIRABLE
(adjective) worth having or seeking or achieving; “a desirable job”; “computer with many desirable features”; “a desirable outcome”
Coffee Trivia
