laconic

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Definitions (4)

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  1. adjective Using or marked by the use of few words; terse or concise. See Synonyms at silent.
  2. Word History
    The study of the classics allows one to understand the history of the term laconic, which comes to us via Latin from Greek Lakōnikos. The English word is first recorded in 1583 with the sense "of or relating to Laconia or its inhabitants.” Lakōnikos is derived from Lakōn, "a Laconian, a person from Lacedaemon,” the name for the region of Greece of which Sparta was the capital. The Spartans, noted for being warlike and disciplined, were also known for the brevity of their speech, and it is this quality that English writers still denote by the use of the adjective laconic, which is first found in this sense in 1589.

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Examples

  • He signed this laconic order, which I instantly despatched to General Ferino. —  The Memoirs of Napoleon
  • And Jasmin said of himself, "I have learned that in moments of heat and emotion we are all eloquent and laconic, alike in speech and action -- unconscious poets in fact; and I have also learned that it is possible for a muse to become all this willingly, and by dint of patient toil." —  Jasmin: Barber, Poet, Philanthropist
  • "I have learned," said Jasmin of himself, "that in moments of heat and emotion we may be eloquent or laconic, alike in speech and action -- unconscious poets, in fact; but I have also learned that it is possible for a poet to become all this voluntarily by dint of patient toil and conscientious labour!" —  Jasmin: Barber, Poet, Philanthropist
  • And it was already too late to do anything for the laconic, steadfast Mguvi. —  The Legacy of Heorot
  • The same laconic, open smile that had charmed journalists and politicians alike. —  The Dig
 

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Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (1)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin Lacōnicus, Spartan, from Greek Lakōnikos, from Lakōn, a Spartan (from the reputation of the Spartans for brevity of speech).
 

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