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Severe

αὐστηρόςStrong’s G0840

austēros

Appears in 2 verses of the New Testament

In short

Austēros is the Greek word usually translated “harsh”. It appears in 2 verses of the New Testament.

“For I feared thee, because thou art an austere man: thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest that thou didst not sow.”
Luke 19:21 KJV
Meaning

Usually translated “harsh”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.

How it's translated
  • harsh 2

Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.

Where it's used most
  • Luke 2

1 book in all.

Related words
Explore in Scripture
Greek dictionary

αὐστηρός austēros · severe

αὐστηρός, -ά, -όν (αἄω, to dry up) [in LXX: 2Ma.14:30 * ;] prop., stringent, harsh to the taste. Metaphorical, in Inscr., of a rough country; of disposition and manners, strict, severe (as in π., of an inspector; MM, s v): Luk.19:21-22.† SYN.: σκληρός (Tr., § xiv) (AS)

From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

How the English word “severe” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.

SEVE'RE, adjective

[Latin severus.]

  1. Rigid; harsh; not mild or indulgent; as severe words; severe treatment; severe wrath.
  2. Sharp; hard rigorous.
  3. Very strict; or sometimes perhaps, unreasonably strict or exact; giving no indulgence to faults or errors; as severe government; severe criticism.
  4. Rigorous, perhaps cruel; as severe punishment; severe justice.
All definitions
  1. Grave; sober; sedate to an extreme; opposed to cheerful, gay, light, lively.
  2. Rigidly exact; strictly methodical; not lax or airy.
  3. Sharp; afflictive; distressing; violent; as severe pain, anguish, torture, etc.
  4. Sharp; biting; extreme; as severe cold.
  5. Close; concise; not luxuriant.
  6. Exact; critical; nice; as a sever test.

Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.

Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.