Ascesis

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈsiːsɪs/

Definitions

1. The act of rigorous self-discipline involves refraining from indulgences in order to achieve spiritual or personal growth
2. A commitment to self-control necessitates the rejection of comforts and material possessions for deeper existential understanding
3. The practice of strict self-discipline entails abstaining from physical pleasures and comforts to attain higher spiritual or philosophical insights

Etymology: The Greek word "áskēsis" originally meant exercise or training, and it came from "askéō," a verb meaning to practise or train, often in the sense of working a craft or skill into shape. The ancient Greeks applied the idea to athletes who drilled their bodies for competition, so the root was physical before it was ever moral. The suffix "-sis" simply turns a verb into a noun of action or process, which is why "áskēsis" names the activity of training itself. The sense of self-denial came later and grew out of this training image. Early Christian writers borrowed the Greek term for the disciplined life of monks and hermits, who trained their appetites the way athletes trained their muscles. English took the word directly from that Greek and Late Latin usage in learned circles, so it kept the flavour of deliberate, repeated effort. The term remains a specialist borrowing, used mostly in religious and philosophical writing rather than everyday speech.

Synonyms: austerity, self-discipline, asceticism

Antonyms: indulgence, self-indulgence