economic

English

Alternative forms

• economick, œconomic (archaic)
• œconomick (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French economique, from Latin oeconomicus, from Ancient Greek οἰκονομικός (oikonomikós, “skilled with household management”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪk/, /ˌɛkəˈnɒmɪk/

  • Audio (Southern England)

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• (General American, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌikəˈnɑmɪk/, /ˌɛkəˈnɑmɪk/

  • Audio (US)

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  • Audio (Ontario)

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• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ˌiːkəˈnɔmɪk/, /ˌekəˈnɔmɪk/
• (Indian English) IPA^(key): /ˌiːkɔˈnɒmɪk/, /ˌɛkɔˈnɒmɪk/
• Rhymes: -ɒmɪk

Adjective

economic (comparative more economic, superlative most economic)

1. Pertaining to an economy.
   • 2013 August 3, “Boundary problems”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8847:

     Economics is a messy discipline: too fluid to be a science, too rigorous to be an art. Perhaps it is fitting that economists’ most-used metric, gross domestic product (GDP), is a tangle too. GDP measures the total value of output in an economic territory. Its apparent simplicity explains why it is scrutinised down to tenths of a percentage point every month.

   • 2021 January 7, Charles Hugh Smith, The Tyranny Nobody Talks About‎:

     There is much talk of tyranny in the political realm, but little is said about the tyrannies in the economic realm, a primary one being the tyranny of high costs: high costs crush the economy from within and enslave those attempting to start enterprises or keep their businesses afloat.

2. Frugal; cheap (in the sense of representing good value); economical.
3. Pertaining to the study of money and its movement.
4. (obsolete) Pertaining to the management of a household
   • 1714 [1599], John Davies, edited by Nahum Tate, The Original, Nature, and Immortality of the Soul‎, 2nd edition, London: Hammond Banks, page 64:

     And doth employ her Oeconomick Art, and buisy Care, her Houshold to preserve

Usage notes

Modern usage prefers economic when describing the economy of a region or country (and when referring to personal or family budgeting).
Economical is preferred when referring to thrift or value for money.

Derived terms

Related terms

• economise
• economize

Translations

Anagrams

• oncomice

Ladin

Adjective

economic m pl

1. plural of economich

Occitan

Etymology

From Latin oeconomicus.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

economic m (feminine singular economica, masculine plural economics, feminine plural economicas)

1. economic

Derived terms

• economicament

Related terms

• economia

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French économique. By surface analysis, economie +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /e.koˈno.mik/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

economic m or n (feminine singular economică, masculine plural economici, feminine and neuter plural economice)

1. economic
2. economical

Declension