frugal

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: fru=gal

CIDE DICTIONARY

frugal, a. [L. frugalis, fr. frugi, lit., for fruit; hence, fit for food, useful, proper, temperate, the dative of frux, frugis, fruit, akin to E. fruit: cf. F. frugal. See Fruit, n.].

•  Economical in the use or appropriation of resources; not wasteful or lavish; wise in the expenditure or application of force, materials, time, etc.; characterized by frugality; sparing; economical; saving; as, a frugal housekeeper; frugal of time.  [1913 Webster]

  "I oft admire
  How Nature, wise and frugal, could commit
  Such disproportions."  [1913 Webster]
•  Obtained by, or appropriate to, economy; as, a frugal fortune.  Dryden.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

frugal, adj.
1 (often foll. by of) sparing or economical, esp. as regards food.
2 sparingly used or supplied, meagre, costing little.

Derivative

frugality n. frugally adv. frugalness n.

Etymology

L frugalis f. frugi economical

THESAURUS

frugal

Lenten, Scotch, Spartan, abstemious, ascetic, austere, budget, canny, careful, chary, cheap, cheeseparing, conservational, conservative, conserving, discreet, dwarfed, dwarfish, easy, economic, economical, economizing, economy, exiguous, forehanded, frugal to excess, impoverished, inexpensive, jejune, labor-saving, lean, limited, low, low-priced, manageable, meager, mean, measured, meticulous, miserly, moderate, modest, money-saving, narrow, negligible, niggardly, nominal, overfrugal, paltry, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penny-wise, penny-wise and pound-foolish, penurious, piddling, poor, preserving, provident, prudent, prudential, puny, reasonable, restrained, saving, scamping, scant, scanty, scrawny, scrimp, scrimping, scrimpy, sensible, shabby, shoddy, skimp, skimping, skimpy, slender, slight, slim, small, sober, spare, sparing, starvation, stingy, stinted, stinting, straitened, stunted, subsistence, temperate, thin, thrifty, tight-fisted, time-saving, token, too frugal, unexpensive, unnourishing, unnutritious, unwasteful, wary, watered, watery, within means, worth the money

ROGET THESAURUS

frugal

Economy

N economy, frugality, thrift, thriftiness, care, husbandry, good housewifery, savingness, retrenchment, savings, prevention of waste, save-all, cheese parings and candle ends, parsimony, cost-cutting, cost control, economical, frugal, careful, thrifty, saving, chary, spare, sparing, parsimonious, underpaid, sparingly, ne quid nimis, adde parvum parvo magnus acervus erit, magnum est vectigal parsimonia.

Temperance

N temperance, moderation, sobriety, soberness, forbearance, abnegation, self-denial, self-restraint, self-control, frugality, vegetarianism, teetotalism, total abstinence, abstinence, abstemiousness, Encratism, prohibition, system of Pythagoras, system of Cornaro, Pythagorism, Stoicism, vegetarian, Pythagorean, gymnosophist, teetotaler, abstainer, designated driver, Encratite, fruitarian, hydropot, temperate, moderate, sober, frugal, sparing, abstemious, abstinent, within compass, measured, on the wagon, on the water wagon, dry, Pythagorean, vegetarian, teetotal, appetitus rationi obediant, l'abstenir pour jouir c'est l'epicurisme de la rai, trahit sua quemque voluptas.