auster-

1. Imposing or suggesting physical hardship.
2. Grimly unsmiling, humorless, or suggesting strict self-denial; grave; sober; solemn; serious.
3. Severe in manner or appearance; uncompromising; strict; forbidding: "In the sixth grade I had an austere teacher."
4. rigorously self-disciplined and severely moral; ascetic; abstinent: the austere quality of life in the convent.
5. Plain and simple, without luxury, or ease, or self-indulgence: "My ancestors lived an austere life on the frontier."
6. Severely plain in design or lines, without distractions or decoration.
7. Rough to the taste; sour or harsh in flavor.
8. Etymology: from Latin austerus "dry, harsh, sour, tart"; from Greek austeros "bitter, harsh"; especially, "making the tongue dry".

Originally a reference to fruits, wines, etc., related to auos "dry".

1. In an austere fashion.
2. Severely; rigidly; harshly.

1. Extreme plainness.
2. Harsh; unnecessarily extreme.

1. Austere quality; severity of manner, life, etc.; sternness.
2. Usually, austerities; ascetic practices: "The austerities of monastery life."
3. The trait of great self-denial; especially, refraining from worldly pleasures.
4. Strict economy.