austereness
nounEtymology From austere + -ness.
› The state of being austere
1
harshness or astringent sourness to the taste; acerbity.
2
severity; strictness; austerity.
- VVho will beleeue thee Iſabell? / My vnſoild name, th' auſteereneſſe of my life, / My vouch againſt you, and my place i'th State, / VVill ſo your accuſation ouer-vveigh, / That you ſhall ſtifle in your ovvne report, / And ſmell of calumnie.c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iv], page 70, column 1: