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Economy comes from Greek roots meaning management of what?

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economy

American  

[ih-kon-uh-mee] / ɪˈkɒn ə mi /

noun

• economies
  plural

1. 1. the complex of activities related to the consumption, production, and trade of goods and services, as an ongoing functioning system.

      Further inflation would seriously endanger the national economy.

   2. Usually the economy the general state of these activities at a particular time and in a certain country, region, etc..

      The economy is booming, blue-collar wages are up, and unemployment is the lowest it's been in decades.

      We have had a number of clients who lost their jobs due to the economy.

   3. the dominant framework, setting, or context for these activities.

      Economists predict a restoration of a market-driven capitalist economy in the country.

      More than 80 percent of the country's population is involved in agriculture, making it one of the most agrarian economies in the world.

2. thrifty management; frugality in the expenditure or consumption of money, materials, etc..

   By careful economy and some small sacrifices, he paid all his debts.

   Synonyms:

   saving, thrift, thriftiness

   Antonyms:

   wastefulness, extravagance, lavishness

3. an act or means of thrift; a saving.

   He achieved a small economy by walking to work instead of taking a bus.

4. the efficient, sparing, or concise use of something.

   When you're ill, practicing an economy of effort for everyday tasks is important.

5. economy class.

6. the organization or regulation of the parts of a system.

   The medication disrupts the normal hormonal economy of the body.

7. Theology.

   1. the divine plan for humanity, from creation through redemption to final beatitude.

   2. the method of divine administration at a particular time or for a particular people.

8. Obsolete. the management of household affairs.

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adjective

1. costing less to make, buy, or operate.

   With fuel prices so bad, I'm glad I have an economy car.

2. of or relating to economy class.

   The economy fare to San Francisco is only $20 cheaper.

3. intended to save money.

   They voted to reduce the staff in an economy move.

adverb

1. in economy-class accommodations, or by economy-class conveyance.

   These days I can only afford to travel economy.

economy British  

/ ɪˈkɒnəmɪ /

noun

1. careful management of resources to avoid unnecessary expenditure or waste; thrift

2. a means or instance of this; saving

3. sparing, restrained, or efficient use, esp to achieve the maximum effect for the minimum effort

   economy of language

4. 1. the complex of human activities concerned with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services

   2. a particular type or branch of such production, distribution, and consumption

      a socialist economy

      an agricultural economy

5. the management of the resources, finances, income, and expenditure of a community, business enterprise, etc

6. 1. a class of travel in aircraft, providing less luxurious accommodation than first class at a lower fare

   2. ( as modifier )

      economy class

7. (modifier) offering or purporting to offer a larger quantity for a lower price

   economy pack

8. the orderly interplay between the parts of a system or structure

   the economy of nature

9. philosophy the principle that, of two competing theories, the one with less ontological presupposition is to be preferred

10. archaic the management of household affairs; domestic economy

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Usage

What does economy mean? An economy is everything involved in managing resources in a particular place. Resources are things known as goods and services. Goods are touchable things we can own, like food or cars. Services are work you can do for pay, such as cooking food at a restaurant or repairing a car at a garage. An economy includes all of the systems, activities, and organizations that determine who gets goods and services, how many goods and services there are, and how they can be exchanged or owned. Stores, factories, companies, governments, customers, money, trade, taxes, and many other things all work together to make up an economy. We usually specify an economy by location, as in the German economy. But it’s common for someone to refer to the economy of their own country as “the economy.” The study of economies is called economics. Economies are often very complex and are influenced by many different factors, such as supply of natural resources, culture, government policy, weather, pandemics, and changes in technology. Many modern countries have a market economy. In this kind of economy, a person or business owns the goods and services they produce and can decide how much they want to sell them for. Likewise, customers or buyers have money that they can decide how much they are willing to spend on goods and services. In this type of economy, prices are determined by supply and demand. Goods and services that are rare or greatly desired by many people have a high price, while goods and services that are plentiful or less-wanted things have a low price. By comparison, in a command economy a government decides how goods and services will be distributed and industries are mostly owned by the public.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• noneconomy
  noun
• subeconomy
  noun
• supereconomy
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• economies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of economy

First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French economie, from Latin oeconomia, from Greek oikonomíā “household management,” from oîko(s) “house” ( cf. ecology ( def. )) + -nomia -nomy

Explanation

The general sense of economy is careful management of resources such as money and materials, so as not to waste them, but the more familiar reference is to a system of producing, distributing, and consuming goods and services. The word economy derives from Greek oikonomos, "manager of a household," from oikos, "house." The earliest meaning of the adjective economical and the noun economics was also in connection with the management of a household. The earliest mention of a nation's economy was in Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, an important work in the history of political economy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

economy economies

Asian stocks mostly rose on Monday following a retreat on Wall Street as investors assessed fresh data that tempered expectations for a US interest rate hike but indicated weakness in the world's top economy.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

The Japanese economy notched a third consecutive quarter of growth, but at a slower pace as household and corporate spending weakened.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

The economy is growing solidly, unemployment rates are at record lows, and inflation has come down.

From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026

Those officials are afraid that they won’t get their 15 minutes of fame when financial television hosts can no longer elicit their latest pearls of wisdom about the economy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

Nevertheless, in the subsistence economy of hunting and gathering, there was an obvious limit to such long-term planning.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Asare says the campaign has often viewed the returning diaspora simply as a means of foreign cash flow, raising prices and negatively altering local economies.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

She grew up across different L.A. suburbs, in a family that owned car washes, and says she understands how delicate local economies can be.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

According to its latest annual report, Goodwin Steel Castings and Goodwin International have delivered a boost to the company's profits, having benefited from economies increasing their defence spending.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

The transformation is threatening advanced-manufacturing economies such as the European Union, Japan and South Korea.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The New Guineans readily integrated Austronesian chickens, dogs, and especially pigs into their food-producing economies.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• affordable
• bargain
• cheap
• discount
• downscale
• economical
• inexpensive
• low-priced