Word of the Day

adjective

"While the Ingallses were living outside the town of De Smet, in what is now South Dakota, Laura met her future husband, a laconic homesteader ten years her senior." (Judith Thurman, The New Yorker, August 10, 2009)

Laconia was an ancient country in southern Greece, bordering on the Aegean and the Mediterranean seas. Its capital city was Sparta, and the Spartans were famous for their terseness of speech. "Laconic" comes to us by way of Latin from Greek "Lakonikos," which is derived from "Lakon," meaning "native of Laconia." It has been with us since the 16th century and has sometimes been used with the basic meaning "of or relating to Laconia or its inhabitants" (though we’re more apt to use "Laconian" for this meaning today). In current use, "laconic" means "terse" or "concise," and thus recalls the Spartan tendency to use the fewest words possible.

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