Draconian

 WORD OF THE DAY

draconian / adjective / dray-KOH-nee-un

Definition

1:law : of, relating to, or characteristic of Draco or the severe code of laws held to have been framed by him

2: cruel, severe

Examples

Instead, exactly a year ago this week, on June 30, 2020, China imposed a draconian National Security Law on the city.

— Nicholas Goldberg, Star Tribune, 1 July 2021

With plans for draconian greenhouse-gas reductions already announced in the U.K., Centrica would have had little confidence about the capital return such a project would generate.

— Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 3 Oct. 2021

Did you know?

Draconian comes from Draco, the name of a 7th-century B.C. 

Athenian legislator who created a written code of law. Draco's code was intended to clarify preexistent laws, but its severity is what made it really memorable. 

In Draco's code, even minor offenses were punishable by death, and failure to pay one's debts could result in slavery. Draconian, as a result, became associated with things cruel or harsh. 

Something draconian need not always be as cruel as the laws in Draco's code, though - today the word is used in a wide variety of ways and often refers to measures (steep parking fines, for example) that are relatively minor when compared with the death penalty.