oeconomicus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [oe̯.kɔˈnɔ.mɪ.kʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [e.koˈnɔː.mi.kus]^[1]

Forms

oeconomicus (feminine oeconomica, neuter oeconomicum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek οἰκονομικός (oikonomikós, “of household management”),^[2][3] from οἰκονόμος (oikonómos, “household manager”), from οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) and νόμος (nómos, “law, rule”).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero, in On Duties and in On Old Age, refers to Xenophon's work on household management, the Oeconomicus.^[4][2] Köbler dates Cicero 81–43 BC.^[3]

Semantic evolution

It meant relating to household management, and as a masculine noun it was the title of Xenophon's treatise, as in Cicero, Columella and Gellius.^[2][4] Quintilian uses it of the orderly arrangement of a whole case by a speaker, and so it came to mean methodical.^[2][5]

In British medieval Latin it was used of the household, and as a noun of a steward, and in the plural of economics.^[6] English economic is recorded in the 1590s.^[7]

Timeline

• 81–43 BC – Cicero names Xenophon's Oeconomicus.^[4][3]
• c. 35–95/96 AD – Quintilian uses it of the arrangement of a case.^[2][3]
• 1590s – English economic is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of household management, economic.^[2][1]
2. Orderly, methodical.^[2][1]

Noun

1. Oeconomicus, the title of a treatise by Xenophon.^[2][4]
2. (Medieval Latin) A steward; in the plural, economics.^[6]

Related words

• oeconomia
• English economic

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com