Dictionary entry

Draconian

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Dra‐co″ni‐an (?), a. Pertaining to Draco, a famous lawgiver of Athens, 621 b. c.

Draconian code, orDraconian laws, a code of laws made by Draco. Their measures were so severe that they were said to be written in letters of blood; hence, any laws of excessive rigor.