Etimology
From Middle English yconomye, yconomy, borrowed via Old French [Term?] or Medieval Latin from Latin oeconomia, from Ancient Greek οἰκονομία (oikonomía, “management of a household, administration”), from οἶκος (oîkos, “house”) + νέμω (némō, “distribute, allocate”). By surface analysis, eco- + -nomy. The first recorded sense of the word economy, found in a work possibly composed in 1440, is “the management of economic affairs”, in this case, of a monastery.
noun
economy (countable and uncountable, plural economies)
Effective management of a community or system, or especially its resources.
The study of money, currency and trade, and the efficient use of resources.
Frugal use of resources.
The system of production and distribution and consumption. The overall measure of a currency system; as the national economy.
(theology) The method of divine government of the world. (See w:Economy (religion).)
(US) The part of a commercial passenger airplane or train reserved for those paying the lower standard fares; economy class.
(archaic) Management of one’s residency.
Examples
animal economy, vegetable economy
the Jewish economy
the economy of a poem
economy of word
I have no other notion of economy than that it is the parent to liberty and ease.
An economy open to free movement of capital can keep a fixed exchange rate, for example, only by subjugating monetary-policy goals to its defence—by raising interest rates sharply, say, when capital outflows put downward pressure on the currency. Yet the trilemma also implies that an economy can enjoy both free capital flows and an independent monetary policy, so long as it gives up worrying about its exchange rate.
Related words
related terms
economicsmacroeconomicsmicroeconomics
macroeconomics
microeconomics
adjective
economy (not comparable)
Cheap to run; using minimal resources; representing good value for money; economical.
Examples
He bought an economy car.
Economy size.
adverb
economy (not comparable)
(US) In or via the part of a commercial passenger airplane reserved for those paying the lower standard fares.
Examples
Numerous web sites have tips on how to fly economy.