laconic

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“
Spartan brevity was a proverb, whence our word laconic (from Laconia), implying a concise and pithy mode of expression.

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Definitions (4)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  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 (50)

  • The girl wasn't usually quite so laconic, and Kelsey's brow furrowed. —  Chapter1Rabbit
  • Many of the stories in Northern Stars have a tendency toward laconic, almost meditative, observation and description, and in place of classic plot structures of conflict and resolution they often present scenarios which change little or not at all over the course of the story. —  F ;SF; - vol 088 issue 04 - April 1995
  • Lanky, laconic, and clever, Jimmy had become a part of my life with his quick curiosity, wry sense of humor, and lack of pretension. —  Set Sail for Murder
  • The Only Ones engaged the power of Perrett's songs - all beautifully laconic, languid vocals, alongside —  Band Weblogs
  • Harps and Angels lacks a weak track, along the way pausing for such twinkles as the laconic "Potholes," where Newman tells a story-or, more accurately, has a conversation with himself-about memory and women. —  Stereophile RSS Feed
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laconic:   Laconic
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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