lac·o·nism \ˈlakəˌnizəm\noun (-s) Etymology: Middle French & Greek; Middle French laconisme, from Greek lakōnismos imitation of Lacedaemonian manners, especially in terseness of expression, from lakōnizein to speak laconically, laconize 1.: brevity or terseness of expression < the provocative laconism of the newspaper headline, which conceals meaning almost as often as it expresses it — B.R.Redman > 2.: a laconic expression