parsimony
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Old French parsimonie, from Latin parsimōnia (“sparingness, frugality”), from parcere (“to be sparing”).
[edit] Noun
parsimony (uncountable)
- Great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily.
- 1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations:
- Parsimony, and not industry, is the immediate cause of the increase of capital. Industry, indeed, provides the subject which parsimony accumulates. But whatever industry might acquire, if parsimony did not save and store up, the capital would never be the greater.
- 1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations:
- By analogy from (1), principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem.
[edit] Synonyms
- economy
- frugality
- stinginess
- niggardliness
- See also Wikisaurus:stingy
- See also Wikisaurus:frugal
[edit] Related terms
[edit] Translations
great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily
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principle of using the least resources or explanations to solve a problem
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[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- parsimony in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- parsimony in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
