Abarim Publications' online Biblical Greek Dictionary
αυος
The adjective αυος (auos) means dry or withered and in the classics was used to refer to sticks, poles or timber for fire wood, or the dried hide that was stretched over shields. It could be used to indicate that one was literally very thirsty or figuratively entirely exhausted or shivering (from age) like a dry leaf. Our adjective was used in recognizable metaphors from a dry rasping sound to a dry literary style. And one could be financially dry, meaning without money.
Our adjective is thought to stem from the Proto-Indo-European root "hsews-", to be dry. From this same root comes the English word sear. Our adjective does not occur in the New Testament, but from it comes:
- The adjective αυστηρος (austeros), meaning harsh or severe (hence our English word austere). In the classics, this word initially described land that is too dry to sport any flowery elaborations or pleasant bodies of water. From there it came to denote mentalities that likewise reserve no room for adornments or flexibilities. Our word occurs in the New Testament in Luke 19:21 and 19:22 only.