What is the origin and the meaning of the word draconian

«Just Train Your Brain»

Благодарим всех конкурсантов, принявших участие в первом туре! Здесь мы публикуем САМЫЕ ИНТЕРЕСНЫЕ ответы на вопросы олимпиады.

1. Why should every community have a certain set of rules of behaviour, in other words laws?
I think that every community should have a certain set of rules of behaviour, because a state cannot survive without any kind of law (from traditions, primitive rules to modern sophisticated law codes). There are always people, who have different interests, which are usually colliding, and the function of law is to regulate this situation. (Максим Шуваев, Пермский Государственный Университет)

2. Why is it impossible to produce laws which would be entirely satisfactory?
Each society consists of many social groups and each of them has its own political, economical and other interests which can be different and even contradictory. These circumstances make the adoption of laws which would be entirely satisfactory impossible. (Сергей Бурлаков, Ивановский Государственный Университет)

3. What areas of human life did the earliest laws deal with?
Laws are supposed to regulate the relations and protect the values which are considered by the society and the state as the most important at a particular time. The earliest laws dealt with compensation for body injuries, slavery, etc. (Сергей Бурлаков, Ивановский Государственный Университет)

4. What is the origin and the meaning of the word «draconian»?
The word «draconian» means very severe, extremely harsh measures. This term arises from the code of laws of Draco, where death penalty was the main punishment for almost all criminal offenses. (Дарья Кривошея, Белгородский Государственный Университет)

5. In your opinion, why did Hammurabi decide to have his laws carved into a stone pillar set up in a temple?
To my mind, Hammurabi decided to have his laws carved into a stone pillar set up in a temple, because the stone allowed his laws to live forever. The stone also symbolized that Hummurabi’s laws were as durable as stone, and setting up of the pillar in a temple asserted that his laws were divine and represented the will of God. (Марина Агальцова, Южно-Уральский Государственный Университет)

6. How do you understand the principle «an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth»?
This is the principle of revenge, according to which the punishment should fit the crime. That’s why those who steal, should be deprived of their property those who kill should be killed. (Марина Агальцова, Южно-Уральский Государственный Университет)

7. What is the Latin name for the «Act for the better securing the liberty of the subject, and for prevention of imprisonments beyond the seas»?
The Latin name for the «Act for the better securing the liberty of the subject, and for prevention of imprisonments beyond the seas» is the «Habeas Corpus Act».

8. How do you understand the principle of limited government?
The principle of «limited government» was introduced by the Magna Carta and meant the restriction of absolute monarchic power in the economic sphere, in the sphere of human rights and legal proceedings. According to this document certain taxes could not be collected without popular consent, the unlawful loss of life, liberty and property was forbidden. (Антон Рапенок, Пермский Государственный Университет)

9. In your opinion, were the punishments of the ancient world harsher than those of our time? Justify your view.
I consider, that punishments of our time are not so harsh, as they were in ancient times, because we are trying to make them more humane, respecting intrinsic individual rights. Moreover, nowadays many states have abolished death penalty and use imprisonment as the most common punishment, unlike ancient times, where the Talion principle was observed. (Марина Агальцова, Южно-Уральский Государственный Университет)

10. What is the essential difference between the codes of Solon and Draco?
The most essential difference between the codes of Solon and Draco is that in comparison with the code of Draco the code of Solon was more humane. (Максим Шуваев, Пермский Государственный Университет)

11. What facts support the statement that Solon was a more popular ruler than Draco?
Solon was one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece, a noted poet and the Athenian people of all classes turned to Solon hoping to solve their problems in a satisfactory way. (Екатерина Кривошапова, Белгородский Государственный Университет)
The main indication of a statesman’s popularity is that people trust him and support his activities. Athenians believed in Solon and relied on him in times of political crisis and possible revolution because they supposed that he would be able to find a wise solution to the problems. (Сергей Бурлаков, Ивановский Государственный Университет)

12. What political situation necessitated the granting of the Magna Carta?
The struggle for power between the English King and the nobility and the threat of civil war necessitated the adoption of the Magna Carta, one of the oldest written constitutional papers. (Юрий Анцыферов, Ивановский Государственный Университет)

13. What was so remarkable about Napoleon’s law code? Napoleon’s code is the excellent model of civil law codification which is characterized by a very high level of judicial technique that makes it understandable for ordinary people. Having abolished previous privileges of different social groups and having given people equal rights, Napoleon created an immortal code of laws. (Сергей Бурлаков, Ивановский Государственный Университет)

14. In which national emergencies can the Habeas Corpus Act be suspended?
The Habeas Corpus Act can be suspended only in extraordinary situations such as rebellion or invasion, which is declared in Article 1 of the American Constitution. In England and Scotland such a measure has not been applied since 1818. (Антон Рапенок, Пермский Государственный Университет)

15. How do you understand the concept of «natural law»?
The concept of «natural law» means that some rights of persons are given to them not by their states, but by nature. So the state and its bodies can’t confine the people or deprive them of these rights. (Алла Ксенюк, Белгородский Государственный Университет)

16. How were the rights of the monarch limited by the Bill of Rights?
The monarch couldn’t dispense with the law in certain cases, completely suspend laws without the consent of Parliament, levy taxes and maintain army in peacetime without specific parliamentary authorization. (Дарья Кривошея, Белгородский Государственный Университет)

17. Which prominent leader remarked: «The heart of a statesman must be in his head». What did he mean by this?
The phrase «The heart of a statesman must be in his head» was said by Napoleon Bonaparte. I suppose Napoleon wanted to express the idea, that taking public decisions a statesman must follow the common sense, think logically in the interests of his state, not taking into account his own feelings and attitudes. (Антон Рапенок, Пермский Государственный Университет)
. To my mind, Napoleon wanted to emphasize that each statesman should remain cold-minded under most strenuous circumstances and subordinate all his feelings to his duty of a statesman. (Юрий Анцыферов, Ивановский Государственный Университет)

18. What is the influence of the Bill of Rights on political thinking in America?
The Bill of Rights (1689) proved that the state system of each country should be based on the recognition of law as the main means of protection of human life, on the recognition of the main rights and freedoms of people. It was one of the reasons which caused the adoption of American Constitution (1787) and the ten amendments to it which soon received the same name as the constitutional document in England because it largely referred to the same matters. (Юрий Анцыферов, Ивановский Государственный Университет)

19. Why is it difficult to know the nature of laws that were in effect before the 3rd century BC?
The difficulty of examining the laws that were in effect before the 3rd century BC is explained by the fact that writing originated in about 3500 BC. That is why there are no written sources to be analyzed. (Сергей Бурлаков, Ивановский Государственный Университет)
. a lot of legal documents of that period have been lost or destroyed. We can make our suppositions only according to some legal memorials, which are undoubtedly insufficient for the reconstruction of the comprehensive system of ancient law. (Антон Рапенок, Пермский Государственный Университет)

21. Why do contemporary law students give historical legal documents such careful consideration?
In my opinion, we should know the origins and development of law in order to be successful and professional lawyers. Moreover, many legal ideas and principles of the past times are in effect nowadays. (Людмила Клюева, Саратов)
. ancient law is the basis of modern legal system of all countries, the legal system of every state has a special connection with ancient law. And, of course, through the history of legal documents we can see the history, the state system and the way of living of our ancestors. (Максим Шуваев, Пермский Государственный Университет)
. Of course, we need to know the history of the law, as History is the great teacher that can prevent us from making the mistakes of our predecessors. The development of world legal system helps us to reconstruct the whole picture of world law. (Марина Агальцова, Южно-Уральский Государственный Университет)

Word Origin: Draconian

*** You can watch the animated video version of this article here.

Language is a funny thing and no language is as funny, weird, or baffling as English. Perhaps more than any other tongue, English has been influenced by almost every culture and language it has come into contact with. The purpose of this series is to highlight some of the more interesting instances where an event, cultural practice, or person has entered the vocabulary of the modern English speaker.

First thing’s first. What does ‘draconian’ actually mean? Well, the Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘draconian’ as ‘laws themselves or their application being excessively harsh or severe.’

Now I’m sure that there are more than a few of you who thought the word must be somehow related to dragons. There’s no point in denying it.

Unfortunately for everyone, ‘draconian’ has less to do with dragons and more to do with an Ancient Greek individual by the name of Draco. Whose name means ‘dragon’. Sooo there is that.

Anyway, Draco hailed from the city-state of Athens, the birthplace of democracy. He was what is sometimes referred to as a ‘lawgiver’, that is, someone who is responsible for establishing substantial civic laws or reforms.

Other notable Greek lawgivers include his contemporary Solon of Athens and the semi-legendary Lycurgus of Sparta, the man supposedly responsible for establishing the famously militaristic Spartan social system.

Draco of Athens

Very little is known about Draco’s life. We don’t know when he was born or who his family was or even what he did for the majority of his life.

What is known is that Draco was the first recorded legislator in Athenian history and we know he is the first recorded legislator because it was Draco who laid down the very first written legal constitution of Athens.

Indeed, he first appears on the historic record in 622 or 621 BCE, when Draco established the legal code that is referred to by historians as the Draconian Constitution.

This revolutionary legal code transitioned the Athenian judicial system away from oral laws and the practice of blood feuds to a codified system of laws that were enforceable solely by a court of law.

So how then does someone who transformed the Athenian legal system become associated in modern English with laws that are excessively harsh or severe?

Well, the term draconian in the sense that we now use it is derived from the fact that Draco’s laws were indeed notably harsh. The death penalty was used liberally, even for the most minor offences, such as stealing a piece of fruit. According to some historians, Athenians later claimed that the death penalty was the only punishment for those who broke Draco’s laws.

The ancient historian Plutarch recounts an encounter during which Draco explained the reason for his preference for capital punishment.

“And Draco himself, they say, being asked why he made the death penalty for most offences, replied that in his opinion the lesser ones deserved it and for the great ones no heavier penalty had yet been found.” – Plutarch, Life of Solon

However, despite its historic reputation for harshness, the Draconian Constitution was notable for one reform that is still an integral part of modern legal systems right down to the present day, 2600 years later.

Draco is the first known lawgiver to make a distinction between murder and involuntary homicide, with the difference being the innovative legal concept of ‘intent’.

This so-called Homicide Law has its legacy in many modern legal systems as the crimes of murder and manslaughter, with the former requiring what is known as ‘malice aforethought’, or the clear intention to kill.

However, perhaps Draco’s most enduring influence on Athenian democracy came in the form of the Council of Four Hundred, also known as the Boule, which was established in the Draconian Constitution but is often incorrectly attributed to Solon of Athens. This Council, chosen by lot, was responsible for setting the legislative agenda of the Assembly (or Ekklesia) of all Athenian citizens. By the 5 th Century, the Boule was the predominant governmental body in Athenian democracy.

Solon of Athens

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the incredible harshness of Draco’s laws led to intense discontent and unrest within Athenian society. In fact, every single Draconian law was by repealed by Solon in 594 BCE, with the notable exception of the Homicide Law.

The so-called Solonian Constitution essentially reformed the Athenian legal code into a system of laws that remained substantially unchanged until the decline of Athenian democracy in the 3 rd Century BCE. Not for nothing is Solon considered the greatest Athenian lawgiver of them all.

As for Draco, well, as far as historians and classicists can tell, at some point his fellow Athenians drove him into exile. He took refuge on the nearby island of Aegina, where he apparently remained until his death.

Interestingly, the significance of the Draconian Constitution, as the first written constitution of Athens, was actually unknown to historians. No contemporary sources described its revolutionary nature. Until, that is, the discovery of Aristotle’s Constitution of Athens in 1898, in which the great philosopher explicitly mentions the unprecedented nature of Draco’s legal code and highlights the man’s position as one of ancient Athens’ most important reformers. This increased awareness of Draco and his constitution precipitated the entry of the word Draconian into the English lexicon with its current definition of excessive harshness in a legal setting.

So there you have it. The word draconian has nothing to do with dragons, which was a great disappointment to me, and everything to do with a man who apparently thought execution was an appropriate punishment for stealing a cabbage. No wonder they gave him the boot.

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Draconian

Draconian describes something as very strict or harsh. It comes from the Athenian lawmaker Draco, whose laws were extreme. For example, theft carried the death penalty. While it was previously capitalized, because Draco is a name, most do not capitalize it today.

It should be noted that draco is also a Latin word meaning dragon or snake. Common confusion arises with the word draconic, which originally meant pertaining to dragons, but was commandeered after Draco came onto the Athens political field. Therefore, it carries both meanings and one must use context to determine the definition.

Dragonian, on the other hand, derives from the word dragon not draco and most definitely pertains to dragons.

Below is the ngram for draconian, which has been on a steady rise for the past fifty years.

They point to Ryan ’s case as a miscarriage of justice, the result of an overzealous prosecutor stretching the law and imposing a draconian sentence given Ryan ’s relatively minor role in the actual crime. [Washington Times]

“The internet is the last island of free expression in Russia and these draconian regulations are clearly aimed at putting it under government control,” he added. [BBC News]

A humbled Johnson was forced to support a draconian Nixon plan sharply at odds with Thursday’s liberal idyll: the five-hour curfew. [Guardian]

That mistake got her expelled, and on Monday her school board followed a draconic zero-tolerance policy and voted unanimously to keep most of her punishment in place. [The Blaze]

I don’t think a character should just get a draconic mount, even one as limited as that of the Dragonrider, for free as a class feature. [Nerd Trek]

Here are all the possible meanings and translations of the word draconian.

Princeton’s WordNet (2.00 / 2 votes) Rate this definition:

of or relating to Draco or his harsh code of laws

GCIDE (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition:

Pertaining to Draco, a famous lawgiver of Athens, 621 b. c. Used especially in the phrase Draconian punishment.

Wiktionary (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition:

Of or resembling a dragon

Etymology: From the Athenian lawmaker Draco, known for making harsh laws.

Webster Dictionary (5.00 / 1 vote) Rate this definition:

pertaining to Draco, a famous lawgiver of Athens, 621 b. c

Freebase (1.00 / 1 vote) Rate this definition:

Draconian is a doom metal band from Säffle, Sweden formed in 1994. The band consists of Anders Jacobsson, Heike Langhans Johan Ericson, Jerry Torstensson, Daniel Arvidsson, Fredrik Johansson, and Andreas Karlsson.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition:

Suggested Resources (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition:

Anagrams for draconian »

How to pronounce draconian?

How to say draconian in sign language?

Numerology

The numerical value of draconian in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

The numerical value of draconian in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of draconian in a Sentence

It is my hope that your draconian inquisitions are not returning this committee to the dark days of 16th-century England.

This has gone on long enough. There is no reason to keep The Capitol closed and to continue enforcing the draconian mask mandate, the Capitol belongs to the American people, and their right to come before Congress is not contingent on wearing a mask. No more excuses, reopen The Capitol and rescind the mandates so that we can return to normal.

I have discussed it with President Trump and we can not move on, as all the other candidates up here have outlined, under the cover of Covid there were draconian changes made to our voting laws by Democratic leadership, and they have blocked appropriate reviews of some of those decisions. We have to be serious about what happened in 2020, and we won’t be able to address that until we can really look under the hood.

Instead of combating food insecurity for millions, connecting workers to good-paying jobs or addressing income inequality, the administration is inflicting their draconian rule on millions of Americans across the nation who face the highest barriers to employment and economic stability.

The issue with this appeal will not be the sentence itself. Under the law, the Court was not incorrect. However, the law, as written, is barbaric and Draconian, there needs to be a change in the law.

Курс 2 семестр

1. What are the main sources of the British law?

2. Who is responsible for making laws in Britain?

3. What is the difference between criminal and civil law?

4. What is the most common type of law court in England and Wales?

5. What are the types of British courts?

6. Where are the appeals from magistrate courts heard?

7. What is the highest court in England and Wales?

8. What cases are referred to the European court of Justice?

9. What is the largest branch of legal profession in England and Wales?

10. What is the difference between a solicitor and a barrister?

11. What is the highest level of barristers in the UK?

12. Are the training and career development for solicitors and barristers the same?

13. How are judges trained?

14. How many jurors are there in a jury?

15. What kind of people can be chosen to a jury?

16. Are juries used in civil cases?

17. What is the most common type of the British court?

18. Are magistrates paid? Do they have legal training?

19. What do coroners deal with?

20. What do clerks in the court deal with?

21. What punishment can be imposed by magistrates courts?

22. Where do the cases go it the punishment is to be rather severe?

23. Why is it difficult to judge about the earliest laws?

24. Where and why did the first laws appear?

25. What issues did the early laws emphasize? Why?

26. Why do you think Hammurabi decided to have his laws carved into a pillar?

27. What spheres of human life were covered by Hammurabi’s code?

28. Why do you think people of different ranks were treated differently by Hammurabi’s code?

29. What does the ancient concept of law comprise?

30. Why were the first laws mainly attributed to divine powers?

31. What is the origin and the meaning of the word “draconian”?

32. How do you understand the concept of “natural law”?

33. What was Solon’s contribution to ancient law?

34. What were the two basic principles of the English system of government at the beginning of the 17 th century?

35. What provisions did the Magna Carta contain?

36. Who enjoyed the rights granted by the Magna Carta?

37. What events preceded the Bill of Rights?

38. How were the rights of the monarch limited by the Bill of Rights?

39. What civil rights were protected by the Bill of Rights?

40. What was the influence of the Bill of Rights on political thinking in America?

41. What efforts did Napoleon make to reorganize the diverse legal systems of France?

42. Did Napoleon draw up the whole code himself?

43. What was remarkable about Napoleon’s new code?

44. What were thee benefits of Napoleon’s code for the ordinary people?

45. Which countries throughout the world still use the elements of Napoleon’s code?

46. What measures can society take to cope with crime?

47. What trends can be observed in the development of criminology?

48. What methods and techniques are applied in criminology?

49. What concepts formed the basis of the earliest criminological theories?

50. What was Montesquieu’s approach to causes of crime?

51. What views on crime predominated in the 19 th century?

52. How did criminological theories develop in the 20 th century?

53. What are the latest views on the causes of crime?

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