economical

Etymology

It is formed from English economic + -al,^[2][3][4] or, in the OED's revised account, from Latin oeconomicus or its source Ancient Greek οἰκονομικός (oikonomikós) with the English suffix, probably also influenced in meaning by Middle French yconomique and French économique.^[5] It is recorded before the shorter adjective, and Etymonline suggests that economic may be a shortening of it.^[5][2] The Greek adjective comes from οἰκονομία (oikonomía, “household management, thrift”), ultimately from οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) and νέμω (némō, “to manage”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to the management of a household; domestic: about 1487, in J. Skelton's translation of Diodorus Siculus.^[5][3] Etymonline dates the word to the 1570s.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In theology the word was used from 1577 for God's government of the world and its dispensations.^[5] The sense "sparing, not wasteful; thrifty" is recorded from 1601,^[5] and Etymonline calls it the main modern sense.^[2] Johnson (1755) gave only the older meaning, "pertaining to the regulation of an household".^[6] From 1781, in Gibbon, it meant relating to the material resources of a state, or to political economy,^[5][2] but that sense now usually belongs to economic;^[2][7] from 1795 it could refer to a person's finances,^[5] and something run profitably or giving good value was economical from 1815.^[5] The phrase to be economical with the truth, to mislead without quite lying, is recorded from 1848 in a Wisconsin newspaper,^[5] but it became famous in 1986, when Robert Armstrong, the British Cabinet Secretary, used it at the Spycatcher trial in Sydney.^[8] The politician Alan Clark varied it in 1992 as economical with the actualité.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1487 – relating to household management.^[5][3]
• 1577 – in theology, relating to the divine government of the world.^[5]
• 1601 – sparing, not wasteful; thrifty.^[5]
• 1781 – relating to the resources of a state; to political economy.^[5][2]
• 1795 – relating to one's personal finances.^[5]
• 1815 – profitable; giving good value.^[5]
• 1848 – to be economical with the truth.^[5]
• 1986 – the phrase is popularized by Robert Armstrong at the Spycatcher trial.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Giving good value or return for the money, time or effort spent; efficient: an economical boiler.^{[10][11][7][5]}
2. Careful not to waste money or resources; thrifty, frugal.^[7][11][10]
3. Using no more of something than is needed; sparing: an economical use of colour.^[7][11][10]
4. Relating to an economy or to economics; economic.^[7][5]
5. economical with the truth: (euphemistic) deliberately misleading, by lying or by holding back facts.^[5][12][10]

Word family

• economically
• noneconomical
• uneconomical

Related words

• economic
• economy
• economics

Usage notes

Economic is now the usual word for what concerns the economy or economics, while economical keeps the sense "thrifty, giving good value";^[2] Collins still lists the economic senses as variants of economical.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
7. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ a b Tréguer, Pascal, Word Histories, wordhistories.net, p. "To be economical with the truth: meaning and origin", 21 March 2024
9. ^ Tréguer, Pascal, Word Histories, wordhistories.net, p. "To be economical with the actualité: meaning and origin", 20 March 2024
10. ^ a b c d Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
11. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
12. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press