economy

English Online Dictionary. What means economy‎? What does economy mean?

English

Alternative forms

• oeconomy, œconomy (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English yconomye, yconomy, borrowed via Old French [Term?] or Medieval Latin from Latin oeconomia, from Ancient Greek οἰκονομία (oikonomía, “management of a household, administration”), from οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) + νέμω (némō, “distribute, allocate”). By surface analysis, eco- +‎ -nomy. The first recorded sense of the word economy, found in a work possibly composed in 1440, is “the management of economic affairs”, in this case, of a monastery.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɪˈkɒ.nə.mi/, /əˈkɒ.nə.mi/
• (General American) enPR: ĭkŏʹnəmē, əkŏʹnəmē IPA^(key): /iːˈkɑ.nə.mi/, /ɪˈkɑ.nə.mi/, /əˈkɑ.nə.mi/
• Rhymes: -ɒnəmi

Noun

economy (countable and uncountable, plural economies)

1. Effective management of a community or system, or especially its resources.
   1. (obsolete) The regular operation of nature in the generation, nutrition and preservation of animals or plants.

      animal economy, vegetable economy

   2. (obsolete) System of management; general regulation and disposition of the affairs of a state or nation, or of any department of government.
   3. (obsolete) A system of rules, regulations, rites and ceremonies.

      the Jewish economy

   4. (obsolete) The disposition or arrangement of any work.

      the economy of a poem
2. The study of money, currency and trade, and the efficient use of resources.
3. Frugal use of resources.

   economy of word

   • April 5, 1729, Jonathan Swift, letter to St. John

     I have no other notion of economy than that it is the parent to liberty and ease.

4. The system of production and distribution and consumption. The overall measure of a currency system; as the national economy.
5. (theology) The method of divine government of the world. (See w:Economy (religion).)
6. (US) The part of a commercial passenger airplane or train reserved for those paying the lower standard fares; economy class.
7. (archaic) Management of one’s residency.

Derived terms

Related terms

• economics
  • macroeconomics
  • microeconomics

Translations

Adjective

economy (not comparable)

1. Cheap to run; using minimal resources; representing good value for money; economical.

Adverb

economy (not comparable)

1. (US) In or via the part of a commercial passenger airplane reserved for those paying the lower standard fares.

   Numerous web sites have tips on how to fly economy.

Translations

References

Anagrams

• monoecy