“简洁，突然，” 1580年代，字面意思是“与希腊古代斯巴达周边地区有关”，可能通过拉丁语 Laconicus “拉科尼亚的”，源自希腊语 Lakonikos “拉科尼亚的，拉科尼亚的”，形容词来自 Lakon “来自 Lakonia 的人”，即古代希腊南部斯巴达周围的地区。
斯巴达人以善于用简短的话表达丰富的内容而闻名。当马其顿的菲利普威胁他们说：“如果我进入拉科尼亚，我将夷平斯巴达。”斯巴达人的回答是：“如果。” 早期形式为 laconical（1570年代）。相关词：Laconically。
When the Samians who had been banished by Polycrates came to Sparta, they went to the authorities and made a long speech, in view of the greatness of their need. At the first meeting, the Spartans said in answer that they had forgotten the first words of the request and could not understand the last. After that, the Samians had another meeting with the Spartan government, and this time they said nothing but, carrying an empty sack, said simply, "The sack needs grain." At this the Spartans answered, "You did not need to say 'sack.'" But they resolved to help the exiled Samians. [Herodotus, transl. David Grene]
当被波吕克拉底斯流放的萨摩斯人来到斯巴达时，他们向当局发表了长篇演讲，考虑到他们的迫切需要。在第一次会议上，斯巴达人回答说他们忘记了请求的开头，并且无法理解结尾。之后，萨摩斯人再次与斯巴达政府会面，这次他们什么也没说，只是拿着一个空袋子，简单地说：“袋子需要粮食。”对此，斯巴达人回答说：“你不需要说‘袋子’。”但他们决定帮助被流放的萨摩斯人。[希罗多德，译者大卫·格林]
