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The Latin roots of frugal referred to what?

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frugal

American  

[froo-guhl] / ˈfru gəl /

adjective

1. 

   economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful.

   What your office needs is a frugal manager who can save you money without resorting to painful cutbacks.

   Synonyms:

   penny-pinching, tight, stingy, miserly, prudent, careful, provident, chary, thrifty

   Antonyms:

   profligate, prodigal, spendthrift, extravagant, wasteful

2. entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty.

   a frugal meal.

   Synonyms:

   skimpy, sparing, slim, scant

   Antonyms:

   profuse, lavish, luxurious

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frugal British  

/ ˈfruːɡəl /

adjective

1. practising economy; living without waste; thrifty

2. not costly; meagre

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Synonym Usage

Frugal, economical, thrifty imply careful and saving use of resources. Frugal emphasizes being saving, sometimes excessively saving, especially in such matters as food or dress: frugal almost to the point of being stingy. Economical implies prudent planning in the disposition of resources so as to avoid unnecessary waste or expense: economical in budgeting household expenditures. Thrifty is a stronger word than economical and adds to it the idea of industry and successful management: a thrifty shopper looking for bargains.

Other Word Forms

• frugality
  noun
• frugalness
  noun
• nonfrugalness
  noun
• unfrugalness
  noun
• nonfrugal
  adjective
• overfrugal
  adjective
• unfrugal
  adjective
• frugally
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of frugal

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin frūgālis “economical,” derivative of the indeclinable adjective frūgī (dative singular of frūx “produce, fruit”) + -ālis adjective suffix; see origin at fruit, -al ¹

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Explanation

A person who lives simply and economically can be called frugal. Buying clothes at a consignment shop would be considered frugal. Not getting your mom a gift for her birthday — that's just cheap. Thrifty, spartan, and prudent are synonyms for frugal, a word that often has positive connotations when used to describe a person who lives a simple life. "The question for retailers is whether shoppers will remain frugal or slowly resume their old spending habits whenever they get more money in their pockets," wrote The Wall Street Journal. You might also speak of "a frugal meal" — a very plain, cheap one. The word is from Latin frux, meaning "fruit" (in the sense of "profit").

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

frugal

A frugal couple find themselves looking at a rosy financial future, with likely more money left in retirement than they will ever spend.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026

The main gripe for the frugal is the proposed budget represents an increase of around 60 percent on the last one at a time when member states have to tighten their belts.

From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026

While some presidents have been frugal with their financial forgiveness – George H.W.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

In a 2022 Cosmopolitan cover interview, Haddish detailed the frugal budgeting she relied on to buy her very first house after appearing on “The Carmichael Show” in 2015.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 10, 2026

After a frugal supper of cabbage-and-carrot soup and Leberwurst, liver sausage, Helmuth hurries Oma as they clear away the dishes.

From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

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Related Words

• canny
• careful
• meticulous
• prudent
• stingy
• thrifty

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