Word of the day · 7 September 2026
laconic
/ləˈkɒnɪk/
adjective
Using very few words; brief to the point of bluntness.
In a sentence
- His laconic email was three words long and ended the argument.
- She liked laconic stage directions: enter, wait, leave.
- A laconic captain can steady a crew faster than a speech.
Origin
From Greek Lakōnikos, “Spartan,” after Laconia, the region around Sparta.
History
Spartans were famous for spare talk. When Philip of Macedon warned that if he entered Laconia he would raze the city, the Spartan reply was reportedly one word: “If.” English kept laconic for people and prose that refuse decoration. It is praise when the brevity is clear and a criticism when it becomes rude.
Nearby words
terse · brief · Spartan
A style of speech named for Sparta, where short answers were a form of discipline.