laconic [M16th] The Spartans or Laconians of ancient Greece were known for their austere lifestyle and pithy speech. When Philip of Macedon threatened to invade Laconia in the 4th century bc, he wrote to its governing magistrates to try to frighten them into submission, saying that if he entered Laconia he would raze it to the ground. They are reported to have sent a one-word reply—’If’. Since the 16th century laconic has meant ‘using very few words’. See also spartan.