economic

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: e=co=nom=ic

CIDE DICTIONARY

economic, a. [F. économique, L. oeconomicus orderly, methodical, Gr. economical. See Economy.].

•  Pertaining to the household; domestic.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]
•  Relating to domestic economy, or to the management of household affairs.  [1913 Webster]

  "And doth employ her economic art
  And busy care, her household to preserve."  [1913 Webster]
•  Managing with frugality; guarding against waste or unnecessary expense; careful and frugal in management and in expenditure; -- said of character or habits.  [1913 Webster]

  "Just rich enough, with economic care,
  To save a pittance."  [1913 Webster]
•  Managed with frugality; not marked with waste or extravagance; using the minimum of time or effort or resources required for effectiveness; frugal; -- said of acts; saving; as, an economical use of money or of time; an economic use of home heating oil.  [1913 Webster]
•  of or pertaining to the national or regional economy; relating to political economy; relating to the means of living, or the resources and wealth of a country; relating to the production or consumption of goods and services of a nation or region; as, economic growth; economic purposes; economical truths; an economic downturn.  [1913 Webster]

  "These matters economical and political."  [1913 Webster]

  "There was no economical distress in England to prompt the enterprises of colonization."  [1913 Webster]

  "Economic questions, such as money, usury, taxes, lands, and the employment of the people."  [1913 Webster]
•  Regulative; relating to the adaptation of means to an end.  Grew.  [1913 Webster]
•  of or pertaining to economics.  [WordNet 1.5]
•  profitable. Opposite of uneconomic.  [WordNet 1.5]
•  avoiding waste; as, an economical meal. Opposite of wasteful.  [WordNet 1.5]

  " Economical is the usual form when meaning frugal, saving; economic is the form commonly used when meaning pertaining to the management of a household, or of public affairs."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

economic, adj.
1 of or relating to economics.
2 maintained for profit; on a business footing.
3 adequate to repay or recoup expenditure with some profit (not economic to run buses on Sunday; an economic rent).
4 practical; considered or studied with regard to human needs (economic geography).

Derivative

economically adv.

Etymology

ME f. OF economique or L oeconomicus f. Gk oikonomikos (as ECONOMY)

THESAURUS

economic

Scotch, budget, budgetary, canny, careful, chary, cheap, cheeseparing, commercial, conserving, easy, economizing, economy, financial, fiscal, forehanded, frugal, inexpensive, labor-saving, low, low-priced, manageable, mercantile, moderate, modest, monetary, money-saving, nominal, parsimonious, pecuniary, penny-wise, politico-economic, productive, profitable, provident, prudent, prudential, reasonable, remunerative, saving, scrimping, sensible, shabby, shoddy, skimping, socio-economic, solvent, spare, sparing, thrifty, time-saving, token, trade, unexpensive, unwasteful, within means, worth the money