Etymologically
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oeconomicus

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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]

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