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Webster 1913 Edition

Austerity

Aus-ter′i-ty

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Austerities
.
[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.

Webster 1828 Edition

Austerity

AUSTER'ITY

,
Noun.
[L. austeritas.] Severity of manners or life; rigor; strictness; harsh discipline. It is particularly applied to the mortifications of a monastic life, which are called austerities.

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