Aus*ter"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Austplwies] (). [F. aust'erit'e, 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 1913.