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June 2010Words in the NewsWeeks of media coverage of Europe's economic crisis made austere and austerity, taken together, the most looked-up terms for May. What's the story of these terms? Since the late Middle Ages, austerity has been the term of choice for enforced or extreme economy, especially when such economy is on a national scale. Austerity and austere derive from a Greek term meaning "making the tongue dry and rough," which became less literal and more figurative in English, coming to mean "harsh or severe." Austerity certainly does leave one in parched, rather than luxurious, conditions. The important notion that accompanies these words in contemporary news stories concerning the European economic crisis is that austerity is a policy that is debated and enacted by law. The governments are being forced to act, but nevertheless they are choosing how to address the crisis with austere measures. The related term ascetic brings with it a clear sense of willful self-denial, but if no choice were involved and resources were scarce, perhaps another word – such as privation – would be in the news. |