frugal

English

WOTD – 24 March 2007

Etymology

From Middle French, from Latin frugalis (“virtuous, thrifty”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɹuːɡəl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːɡəl

Adjective

frugal (comparative more frugal, superlative most frugal)

1. Avoiding unnecessary expenditure either of money or of anything else which is to be used or consumed; avoiding waste.
   • 1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Book II, Chapter III:

     By what a frugal man annually saves, he not only affords maintenance to an additional number of productive hands, for that or the ensuing year, but [also] establishes as it were a perpetual fund for the maintenance of an equal number in all times to come.

Synonyms

• cheap
• economical
• thrifty
• See also Wikisaurus:frugal

Antonyms

• spendthrift
• prodigal
• lavish

Derived terms

• frugality

Translations

economical, avoiding waste, thrifty

• Belarusian: ашчадны (aščadny)
• Bulgarian: пестелив (bg) (pesteliv), икономичен (bg) (ikonomičen)
• Catalan: frugal (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 節儉 (zh), 节俭 (zh) (jiéjiǎn)

• Czech: skromný (cs) m, (about a person) spořivý m
• Danish: sparsommelig (da), mådeholden, nøjsom
• Dutch: zuinig (nl), spaarzaam (nl)
• Finnish: säästäväinen (fi), taloudellinen (fi), niukka (fi)
• French: frugal (fr)
• Galician: frugal (gl)
• Georgian: მომჭირნე (momč̣irne)
• German: genügsam (de)
• Greek: λιτός (el) m (litós)
• Ido: frugala (io)

• Irish: spárálach
• Italian: frugale (it) m, f
• Macedonian: штедлив m (štédliv)
• Norman: mênagi
• Norwegian: måteholden (no), frugal

  Bokmål: nøysom (no), sparsommelig

• Polish: oszczędny (pl) m
• Portuguese: frugal (pt)
• Russian: бережливый (ru) (berežlivyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: štedljiv (sh)
• Spanish: frugal (es)
• Swedish: frugal (sv), sparsam (sv)
• Turkish: tutumlu (tr)
• Vietnamese: tằn tiện (vi)

Further reading

• frugal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• frugal in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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French

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin frūgālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fʁy.ɡal/

Adjective

frugal (feminine singular frugale, masculine plural frugaux, feminine plural frugales)

1. frugal, austere

Related terms

• frugalement
• frugalité

Further reading

• “frugal” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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Galician

Etymology

From Latin frūgālis.

Adjective

frugal m, f (plural frugais)

1. frugal, economical

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Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin frūgālis.

Adjective

frugal (plural frugais, comparable)

1. frugal, economical

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [fɾuˈɣ̞a̠l], [fɾuˈɡa̠l]
• See also: frutal, brutal

Etymology

From Latin frūgālis.

Adjective

frugal (plural frugales)

1. frugal, economical