parsimony

American  

[pahr-suh-moh-nee] / ˈpɑr səˌmoʊ ni /

noun

1. extreme or excessive economy or frugality; stinginess; miserliness.

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parsimony British  

/ ˌpɑːsɪˈməʊnɪəs, ˈpɑːsɪmənɪ /

noun

1. extreme care or reluctance in spending; frugality; niggardliness

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Other Word Forms

• parsimonious
  adjective
• parsimoniously
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of parsimony

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English parcimony, from Latin parsimōnia, parcimōnia “frugality, thrift,” equivalent to parsi- (combining form of parsus, past participle of parcere “to economize”) or parci- (combining form of parcus “sparing”) + -mōnia -mony

Explanation

Parsimony is a noun to use when you are watching your money very carefully. So you're not just saving your pennies for a rainy day — you're clipping coupons, re-using dryer sheets, and refusing to pay full price for anything. It's not a bad thing to engage in a little parsimony. Related to an ancient Latin word meaning "to spare," parsimony keeps your checking account in the black and your retirement plan well funded. But get a little too parsimonious and you might start to look like Uncle Scrooge — an old miser who learned the hard way that practicing extreme parsimony doesn't win you love and admiration.

Example Sentences

Parsimony alone would suggest that Wilson is the anomaly here, unless of course he has discovered some important new information.

From Washington Post • Dec. 28, 2017

Parsimony and model-based analyses of indels in avian nuclear genes reveal congruent and incongruent phylogenetic signals.

From Scientific American • Jan. 27, 2014

Parsimony as well: Bush's request of $14.6 billion for fiscal 1990, which began Oct.

From Time Magazine Archive

Around them the clatter of the station crowd began to die, and Parsimony in a shabby uniform went round to lower lights.

From King of the Khyber Rifles by Mundy, Talbot

Jeflur was quite void of true Liberality, but this Matter concerned him too nearly to lose such a dexterous Manager, who had taken it into his Hands, by an unseasonable Parsimony.

From The Amours of Zeokinizul, King of the Kofirans Translated from the Arabic of the famous Traveller Krinelbol by Crébillon, Claude Prosper Jolyot de