Word Study
economical
CIDE DICTIONARY
economical, 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
economical, adj. sparing in the use of resources; avoiding waste.
Derivative
economically adv.
THESAURUS
economical
Scotch, budget, canny, careful, chary, cheap, cheeseparing, close, conservative, conserving, easy, economic, economizing, economy, forehanded, frugal, inexpensive, labor-saving, low, low-priced, manageable, mean, miserly, moderate, modest, money-saving, niggardly, nominal, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penny-wise, penurious, politico-economic, provident, prudent, prudential, reasonable, saving, scrimping, sensible, shabby, shoddy, skimping, socio-economic, spare, sparing, stingy, thrifty, tight, tight-fisted, time-saving, token, unexpensive, unwasteful, within means, worth the moneyROGET THESAURUS
economical
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.For further exploring for "economical" in Webster Dictionary Online