economyn.
/ᵻˈkɒnəmi/, U.S. /iˈkɑnəmi/, /əˈkɑnəmi/ I. The way in which something is managed; the management of resources; household management.† 3. Scottish. = oeconomus n. Also: the work of an oeconomus. Obsolete.† 4. concrete. A household; a society or other structure ordered after the manner of a family. Obsolete.
1.
a. The management or administration of the material resources of a community, discipline, or other organized body; the art or science of managing such resources. Frequently with modifying word.political economy: see political adj. and n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > control > [noun] > management or administration
dispositionc1374
ministrationc1390
disposing1406
procuration?a1425
guidingc1425
economy?1440
conduct1454
solicitation1492
regimenta1500
mayning1527
enterprisea1533
handlinga1538
conduction1565
manyment1567
disposure1569
conveyance1572
managing1579
disposement1583
government1587
carriage1589
manage1591
steerage1597
management1598
steering1599
manurance1604
fixing1605
dispose1611
administry?1616
husbandry1636
dispensatorship1637
admin1641
managery1643
disposal1649
mesnagery1653
contrectation1786
conducting1793
wielding1820
managership1864
operation1872
operating1913
case management1918
in tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) Prol. l. 78 (MED) Where is suche another?..also thus prompt to profre Vche art quadriuial and hath practic, With theoric, moral, as is ethic, Politic, monastic yconomye?
1577 J. Dee Gen. Mem. Arte Nauig. 32 That Want, yf God send yt, is..by the Ordinary Causes Naturall, taking effect, according to the Predestined Plat of this whole worlds [printed wordls] œconomie.
1598 I. D. tr. L. Le Roy Aristotles Politiques iii. xi. 172 The Oeconomie of one or more Nations.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxiii. 124 Special Administration..at home, for the Oeconomy of a Common-wealth.
1663 A. Cowley Agric. in Ess. in Verse & Prose (1687) 101 Rural Oeconomy..would contain the Government of Bees, Swine, Poultry..and the Domestical Conservation and Uses of all that is brought in by Industry abroad.
1691 W. Petty Treat. Naval Philos. in T. Hale Acct. New Inventions 117 Of Naval Oeconomy or Husbandry.
1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 344 'Twould have been bad Oeconomy to make such an use of them [sc. Cushions].
1772 T. Pennant Tours Scotl. (1774) 194 Rural æconomy is but at a low ebb here.
1778 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. (ed. 2) I. iv. 320 The functions in domestic œconomy are many, which fall to the share of women.
1801 Mrs. Trimmer (title) Oeconomy of charity, or an address to Ladies adapted to the present state of charitable institutions.
1863 P. Barry (title) Dockyard economy and naval power.
1866 J. E. T. Rogers Hist. Agric. & Prices I. xix. 455 Articles..employed in the..economy of agricultural operations.
1882 Ballou's Monthly Mag. July 79/2 The famous stave-ran of Scottish and Scandinavian domestic economy, are covered with little black spots.
1927 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 28 Sept. 2/4 Rear Admiral T. P. Magruder's article..criticizing naval economy is now a closed incident so far as the navy department is concerned.
1999 Ethnology 38 381 The Zulu Kingdom then had the beginnings of a central, politically controlled system of economy and law.
b. The management of money or financial resources. (See also sense 6.) Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > [noun]
financing1732
economy1741
finance1763
economics1851
money management1935
1741 T. Betterton in Oldys Eng. Stage II. 7 It was not the only erroneous Instance of his Oeconomy.
1796 E. Burke Let. to Noble Lord in Wks. (1815) VIII. 23 A system of œconomy which would make a random expence..not easily practicable.
1821 Times 13 Jan. 3/1 Is this amount of taxation necessary? Presumptively it is..unless by a well-regulated system of economy a reduction could be made in the public expenditure.
1856 D. O. Allen India, Anc. & Mod. 578 Missionaries have now in nearly all places fixed salaries, but each missionary society has its own system of economy.
1902 N.Y. Times 21 Dec. 7/3 Her husband had a prejudice against bills of any sort, paying cash for anything as soon as it was purchased. It was part of his system of economy.
2. † c. The proper management of the body; (also) the rules which control a person's mode of living; regimen, diet. Obsolete. rare.
a. The art or science of household management, esp. with regard to expenditure. Now only in domestic economy (see domestic adj. and n. Compounds). Cf. husbandry n. 1.
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society > authority > control > [noun] > management or administration > domestic management
housewifeship?c1225
cove and keyc1250
husbandryc1300
economica1393
ménagea1393
householda1398
householdinga1425
housewifery1440
economyc1454
economics1535
house rule1579
householdry1581
managery1586
housekeeping1652
household management1741
notability1756
homebuilding1757
domestic economy1778
Wirtschaft1841
homekeeping1846
housecraft1848
homemaking1863
home economics1872
home science1886
household science1896
domestic science1897
c1454 R. Pecock Folewer to Donet 49 (MED) Prudence is departid into many braunchis..as..into þilk kunnyng which is callid ‘yconomy’ or ‘husbondri’.
c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica v. 346 Thurgh his moche industryous reson he fonde first the vsual drynke of wyne, And the iconomy otherwise callyd husbondrye.
c1530 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1866) 29 The Doctrynal Princyplis and Proverbys Yconomie, or Howsolde keepyng.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 392 A part wherof is Oeconomia, commonly called houserule.]
1616 P. Hay Vision Balaams Asse xi. 197 Who are you to oppose your selues against the rule of Oeconomie in families.
1673 A. Marvell Rehearsal Transpros'd II. 255 You have contrary to..good œconomy made a snow-house in your upper Roome.
1799–1800 C. B. Brown Arthur Mervyn xi. 105 Tables awry; chairs crouding each other; in short, no object but indicated the neglect or ignorance of domestic neatness and economy.
1825 Times 20 Jan. 3/1 I have profoundly studied domestic economy. Having a small fortune, and a great number of children, I have been obliged to look narrowly into my expenses for the last 20 years which have elapsed since my marriage.
1833 Huron Reflector (Norwalk, Ohio) 20 Aug. The true economy of housekeeping is simply the art of gathering up all the fragments so that nothing be lost.
1880 T. Frost Forty Years' Recoll. 21 The communitive life seemed to me the perfection of political, social and domestic economy.
1928 Punch 5 Sept. 280/1 Valuable information which is afforded about domestic economy, feminine attire, cookery, beauty-culture.
1995 Canad. Historical Rev. June 248 Also deserving of mention are Tanis Day's recent work on domestic economy and household technology, [etc.].
b. The manner in which a household, or a person's private expenditure, is organized or managed. Now rare.
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society > authority > control > [noun] > management or administration > domestic management > manner of
economy1585
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. iv. f. 76 In this maner without any woman they do order their Economy.
1620 J. Ford Line of Life 16 The Oeconomie and household gouernment of a mans owne particular priuate wealth.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 50. ⁋3 His Equipage and Oeconomy had something in them..sumptuous.
1733 J. Swift Thoughts on Var. Subj. in J. Swift et al. Misc. I. 304 Three great Ministers, who could exactly compute..the Accompts of a Kingdom, but were wholly ignorant of their own Œconomy.
1788 J. Priestley Lect. Hist. v. xlix. 372 Impertinence..to watch over the œconomy of private people.
1825–45 T. Carlyle Life Schiller (ed. 2) ii. 70 If you could find me any person that would undertake my small economy.
1873 L. Wallace Fair God ii. iii. 95 His household, its economy, and the exact relation its members bore to each other were mysteries to the public.
1931 Times 20 Oct. 9/1 Only the foolish man would spend and spend until he is bound to become bankrupt. That is not my economy.
1951 Agric. Hist. 25 12/1 The peasant-laborer benefited..from this steady rise in prices, for money played only a marginal part in his economy.
1991 D. Rowe Wanting Everything (1994) 365 A mother..could not adequately fulfil her gathering role in the family economy if she were forced to carry two pre-toddlers with her on food-collecting expeditions.
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society > authority > control > [noun] > regulation > a regulation or rule > for individual > body of
economy1632
1632 H. More tr. G. Piatti Happines Relig. State iii. i. 414 Certainly we must needs confesse, that that is most solidly and most truly existent, which doth alwaies abide in an immortal and vnchangeable thing;..such as are al things pertayning to the oeconomie of the bodie [L. quae ad corporis curam pertinent].
1735 J. Barber in Swift's Lett. (1768) IV. 85 The œconomy you are under must necessarily preserve your life many years.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > delegated authority > one having delegated or derived authority > [noun] > steward or bailiff in charge of another's property > in a college or university
oeconomus1517
economy1525
domestic bursar1907
1525 in R. K. Hannay Acts Lords of Council Public Affairs (1932) 223 That Schir John Turnour and Schir Gilbert Makbrar tuk the office of yconomy upon thaim.
1565 in D. E. Easson Charters Abbey Coupar-Angus (1947) II. 214 And to mak baillieis, chalmerlanis, factouris, yconomeis, hald courti.
?1566–7 G. Buchanan Opinion Reformation Univ. St. Andros in Vernacular Writings (1892) 12 The principal [of the college] to be ane man of iconomie.
1584 in G. Donaldson Reg. Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum (1982) VIII. 445/1 [Gift to John Fentoun] comptrollare clerk [of the] yconomie [of the abbey of Dumfermeling].
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > a civilization or culture > [noun] > other types of civilizations or cultures
economy1535
patriarchy1868
by-world1872
Western world1894
overworld1895
open society1911
pao-chia1931
closed society1935
plural society1939
technopolis1946
shame culture1947
19841951
Hollerith1957
metaculture1959
underground1959
permissive society1960
caring society1966
technocomplex1968
microsociety1970
overground1971
Manhattanism1978
1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua Def. of Peace iii. sig. B6v Yf..of the fyrste oeconomye or domestycall famylye, one brother hadde slayne or otherwyse hurte or offended an other brother..the gouenour or good man of the howse myght lawfully..not haue punysshed the trespasser with extreme ponysshement.
1633 H. Hawkins Partheneia Sacra 21 I hasten to the Mistris-flower herself, who mysteriously sits in this goodlie oeconomie of Sweets and beauties, as in her Bower.
1751 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) II. 249 At Holbeck we..had an economy of young men.
5. Theology.
a. The method of divine government of the world, or of a specific aspect or part of that government.The sense is used pre-eminently of God's dealings with humankind in the Incarnation, but also as these relate to creation and revelation through Scripture and the reconciling activity in the Sacraments.
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the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > nature or attributes of God > [noun] > sovereignty or rule > method of rule
economy1577
1577 M. Hanmer tr. Socrates Scholasticus iii. xix, in Aunc. Eccl. Hist. 314 The Oeconomie, the order in doinge or dispensation of God.
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Worthy Communicant i. §1. 28 All this is the method and Oeconomy of heaven.
1725 D. Cotes tr. L. E. Du Pin New Eccl. Hist. 17th Cent. I. v. 127 The whole Oeconomy of our Salvation might be the better represented.
1814 T. Chalmers Evid. Christian Revel. i. 15 That particular scheme of the divine economy which is revealed to us in the New Testament.
1832 I. Taylor Saturday Evening (1834) 471 The economy of human Salvation has..signalised the distinction of the Triune Nature.
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul II. ix. xxxvii. 226 The true theological position of the Law—its true position, that is, in the Divine œconomy of salvation.
1911 Amer. Jrnl. Theol. 15 440 The incursion of a Higher Power..being conceded, all the miracles of Scripture follow..if they are fitting..and..organically related to a progressive economy of redemption.
1949 Art Bull. 31 290 The hierarchy of images..helps to make of the church a symbol of the Christian universe and the economy of Salvation.
1961 W. A. Beardslee Human Achievement & Divine Vocation in Message of Paul ii. 40 The agent of God is consciously aware of the part which he plays in God's economy.
2000 L. G. Patterson in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 561/2 The purpose of the divine economy of salvation is the return of all rational creatures to their original state at the ‘consummation of all things’ (apokatastasis ).
b. spec. A method or system of divine government suited to the needs of a particular nation or period of time, as Mosaic economy, Jewish economy, Christian economy, etc. Cf. dispensation n. 6.
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1593 R. Cosin Apol. for Sundrie Proc. (rev. ed.) ii. xv. 125 By speciall oeconomie, he [sc. St Peter] was publikely to proceede to their examination and condemnation vnto death.
1664 H. More Apol. in Modest Enq. Myst. Iniquity 516 Tending to the greater ornament and completeness of the Christian Oeconomy.
a1665 J. Goodwin Πλήρωμα τὸ Πνευματικόv (1670) vii. 150 Framers of the whole Mosaical Oeconomy, and Levitical Dispensation.
1698 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. IV. 256 The Oeconomy of Faith should go before that of Vision.
1705 G. Stanhope Paraphr. III. 317 The correspondence between the Jewish and Christian Oeconomy.
1710 J. Welwood in tr. Xenophon Banquet 7 Much clearer than those the Jews had under the Mosaick Oeconomy.
1766 J. Bate Rationale Literal Doctr. Orig. Sin xiv. 318 The principal one, was, to typify and predescribe the Christian Oeconomy.
1841–8 F. Myers Catholic Thoughts II. iii. §4. 13 This Egyptian influence in the Mosaic Economy has been largely over-rated.
1862 E. M. Goulburn Thoughts Personal Relig. 97 The Economy of Grace.
1871 J. R. Macduff Memories of Patmos viii. 100 The twofold song descriptive of both economies.
1931 Jrnl. Negro Hist. 16 142 Slaveholding in the modern sense of the term abolitionists declared to be inconsistent with the Mosaic economy.
1969 M. H. Ahmann New Negro Pref., ix It is hard, indeed, in the Christian economy of things, to understand how all of us have been able to tolerate..devices..designed to hold some of our..fellow countrymen in a..state of slavery.
1987 Amer. Ethnologist 14 176 Only the self-sacrifice of God himself could lift the curse of Adam and Eve and overturn the Mosaic economy.
2006 Daily Tel. 27 June 16/2 There is, as it were, an economy of love, so the fact that one member of the human race is making a concerted effort to open themselves to love, to God, automatically has a spin-off for the rest of the world.
6. The careful management of resources; sparingness.
a. Esp. with reference to money and material wealth: frugality, thrift, saving; (sometimes euphemistic) parsimony. Cf. husbandry n. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > retaining > sparingness or frugality > [noun] > thrift or economical management
housewifeship?c1225
husbandryc1390
thriftiness1552
thrift?1553
housewifery1557
housewifeliness1561
husbanding1591
mesnagery1653
managery1658
mesnage1667
economy1670
scrimping1835
1670 C. Cotton tr. G. Girard Hist. Life Duke of Espernon i. ii. 62 Men have..been very liberal in their censure of the Duke's Oeconomy.
1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. x. 88 Nor was this Oeconomy well liked even in France.
1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting I. iv. 96 The luxury of Britain did not teach him [sc. Holbein] more oeconomy than he had practised in his own country.
1770 J. Harris in Priv. Lett. 1st Ld. Malmesbury I. 196 There can be no independence without economy.
1832 Star & Republican Banner (Gettysburg, Pa.) 20 Nov. Unless carefulness, industry and economy are united in the character it will be an imperfect one.
1863 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. VII. 5 The economy with which [Queen] Mary had commenced her reign had been sacrificed to superstition.
1891 G. Gissing New Grub St. I. v. 101 His capital lasted him nearly four years, for, notwithstanding his age, he lived with painful economy.
1918 Ogden (Utah) Examiner 22 May 7/2 These poor women, in their desire to practise economy, buy decaying fruit..and other questionable foods.
1965 J. Kosinski Painted Bird (1972) iii. 33 Those who had any matches got into the habit of splitting each match in halves for economy.
2003 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 22 Mar. b2 I've heard from couples who have built their homes themselves... But to most people, these extreme methods of economy are simply not viable.
b. concrete. (Something that represents) an instance or a means of saving or thrift; a saving. Cf. false economy n. at false adj., adv., and n. Additions.
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the mind > possession > retaining > sparingness or frugality > [noun] > thrift or economical management > product of
sparings1629
frugality1725
economy1788
1788 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 389 The suppression of the packets is one of the economies in contemplation.
1844 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xxxiv. 398 His complexion, naturally muddy, was rendered muddier by too strict an economy of soap and water.
1868 J. E. T. Rogers Man. Polit. Econ. (1876) xiii. 10 Improved breeds of horses, cattle..are really economies.
1890 A. Marshall Princ. Econ. I. iv. xiii. 375 Looking more closely at the economies arising from an increase in the scale of production of any kind of goods, we found that they fell into two classes.
1931 B. Marshall Father Malachy's Miracle vii. 115 He did not see that there was any economy to be made by hiring an omnibus or cars.
1965 Newport (Rhode Island) Daily News 30 Jan. I have pruned the budget to the bone. I have made economies in our electric light bill, our laundry bill and our milk bill.
2000 Sunday Times 23 July (Business section) 4/7 Investors will win or lose, depending on whether economies are realised and whether the offsetting diseconomies overwhelm any savings.
c. With reference to immaterial resources (e.g. time, effort, etc.). Frequently with of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > [noun] > using to the best effect
compendium1638
economizing1805
economy1807
economization1842
1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. II. Index 688/3 Catalogue of works... Economy of heat and cold... Blast machine at Carron. Smeaton's reports.
1862 C. Darwin On Var. Contrivances Orchids Fertilised vi. 275 The economy shown by nature in her resources is striking.
1867 G. H. Lewes Hist. Philos. (ed. 3) II. 73 An intensification of power by its economy of effort and definiteness of aim.
1875 P. G. Hamerton Intellect. Life (ed. 2) iii. vii. 107 To read a language that has been very imperfectly mastered is felt to be a bad economy of time.
1923 National Geographic Apr. 362/2 In the matter of cleanness and economy of operation, also, every test showed in electricity's favor.
1926 Times 10 Sept. 6/1 Mr. Hayward (he will forgive my economy of words in not always calling him Squadron Leader) has a..gentle swing.
1938 Amer. Home June 96/3 Rubber kneepads that make for comfort, economy of time, and cleanliness of trousers.
1965 Encounter Aug. 57/1 The elegance of the solution and the economy of the thought and work that went into it are qualities scientists give some weight to.
1991 Jrnl. Southern Afr. Stud. 17 571 There is some poetry in the collection: Ben Okri's economy of words and his dream-textures stand out as particularly good.
d. In air travel: = economy class n. at Compounds 2.
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society > travel > air or space travel > transport by air > [noun] > class of accommodation
tourist class1936
economy1958
economy class1958
tourist1976
club class1978
cattle class1983
1958 Winnipeg Free Press 13 Sept. 8/7 (advt.) All yours for only $645 per person, Montreal to Europe and return... You fly Economy to London.
1975 Business Week (Nexis) 21 Apr. 126 Though first-class and coach passengers would get hot meals, economy passengers had to be content with sandwiches.
2003 J. Mullaney We'll be Back 118 What a bargain eh, no scratting to find a seat in economy.
7. Theology. The judicious management of doctrine; spec. the presentation of doctrine in such a way as to suit the needs or to conciliate the prejudices of the persons addressed; (also) an instance of this. See also economy of truth n. at Phrases 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > doctrine > [noun] > judicious handling of
economy1833
1833 J. H. Newman Arians 4th Cent. i. 72 The economy is certainly sanctioned by St. Paul in his own conduct. To the Jews he became as a Jew, and as without the Law to the heathen.
1841 J. H. Newman in Tracts for Times (ed. 4) xc. 83 What was an economy in the reformers, is a protection to us.
1885 E. S. Ffoulkes Primitive Consecration iv. 93 Whether S. Cyril pushed his economy—or, as it would now be called, his diplomacy—too far.
1969 Times 6 June 11/5 They can find comfort in the entirely respectable..doctrine of ‘Economy’ by which for good reason..an exception to an ecclesiastical rule is happily accepted as a good way of proving the rule.
II. The way in which something is ordered; the organization or structure of a body.† 9. The structure, arrangement, or layout of something made or created by human design.
8. The organization, internal constitution, apportionment of functions, of any complex unity.† a. Theology. Of the Trinity. Obsolete.
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1592 tr. F. Du Jon Apocalypsis iv. 2 According to the œconomie or dispensation thereof [of the divine essence].
1660 Bp. J. Taylor Worthy Communicant i. §3. 46 For now we are to consider how his natural body enters into this œconomy and dispensation.
1720 D. Waterland 8 Serm. Divinity of Christ 268 This Order and Oeconomy, observable in the Persons of the Sacred Trinity.
b. Of human society as a whole, or of any particular community.Also in compounds, as peasant economy, pleasure economy (see the first element): sometimes passing into sense 11.
ΚΠ
?1605 R. Dallington Method for Trauell sig. R2 It remayneth I speake somewhat of the Œconomy, that is, of the people of France, comprised vnder the three Estates, of the Clergy, the Nobility, and Comminalty.
1643 Sir T. Browne Religio Medici (authorized ed.) 16 Nor will [heads that are disposed unto schism] ever be confined unto the order or œconomy of one body. View more context for this quotation
1651 T. Hobbes Philos. Rudim. v. §2. 75 In old time there was a manner of living, and as it were a certain œconomy..living by Rapine.
1712 Spectator No. 404. ⁋1 In the Dispositions of Society, the civil Œconomy is formed in a chain as well as the natural.
1815 Edward Duke of York Let. in Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1835) IV. 2 Your..attention must..be directed to..the interior economy of the different corps.
1859 G. A. Sala Gaslight & Daylight iii. 37 If you enter one of these pawnshops..you will observe these peculiarities in the internal economy of the avuncular life.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 67/2 This real value in the economy of society is not disparaged.
1917 M. E. Richmond Social Diagnosis ii. vi. 136 It is just as true in the economy of the family as it is in the economy of society at large that the interests of the individual..must be adjusted to the interests of the whole.
1991 J. Neusner Introd. Judaism 459 All parties' rights to, and in, this stable and unchanging economy of society are to be preserved.
c. Of the natural world as a whole, esp. in economy of nature; spec. as relating to the interdependence of living things. Now historical.The term economy of nature owed its popularization and specific use to the title of a work commonly attributed to Linnaeus ( I. J. Biberg & Linnaeus Oeconomia naturae (1749), see quot. 1759), in which the mutually useful and apparently ‘economical’ mechanisms connecting living beings are understood as purposefully designed and analogous with those operating within human economic systems. Cf. later ecosystem n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > [noun]
shapec1050
composition1382
temperc1400
confectionc1420
temperament1471
frame?1520
compage1550
architecture1590
compacture1590
structure?1591
fabricaturec1600
constitution1601
membrature1606
composture1614
compositure1625
contexturea1639
composure1639
economy1644
fabric1644
conformation1646
composier1648
constructurea1652
compages1660
mechanism1662
compound1671
construction1707
componency1750
formation1774
make-up1821
1644 K. Digby Two Treat. i. x. 83 Bodies..do neuerthelesse mooue constantly and perpetually one way, the dense ones descending, and the rare ones ascending: not by any intrinsecall quality that worketh vpon them; but by the oeconomy of nature, that hath sett on foote due and plaine causes to produce known effects.
1704 T. Taylor Two Covenants God with Mankind ii. 158 'Tis one and the same God who rules both in the Oeconomy of Nature, and of Grace; and if he acts as a General cause in the one, he cannot be presum'd to act as a particular cause in the other.
1759 B. Stillingfleet tr. I. Biberg Oeconomy Nature in Misc. Tracts Nat. Hist. 31 By the œconomy of nature we understand the all-wise disposition of the creator in relation to natural things, by which they are fitted to produce general ends, and reciprocal uses.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 579 He that hunts Or harms them there..Disturbs the economy of Nature's realm.
1814 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 104 72 The existence of oxygen in the atmosphere, and its action in the economy of nature..have necessarily caused it to occupy a great portion of the attention of chemists.
1866 Rural Amer. (Utica, N.Y.) 15 Dec. 370/1 We see, then, that the economy of nature is, or should be, the economy of husbandry.
1874 R. Brown Man. Bot. iii. ix.423 Darwin..has arrived at the following conclusion regarding the use of hybridism in the economy of nature.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) I. iii. 65 Some Protozoa play a very important part in the economy of Nature by contributing largely to the plankton (the drifting population) of the sea and the fresh waters.
2005 Smithsonian Dec. 60/1 According to the well-established creationist theory of Darwin's day, the exquisite adaptations of many species..were compelling evidence that a ‘designer’ had created each species for its intended place in the economy of nature.
d. Of an individual body or mind as a structured whole or system. Frequently with of. Cf. sense 10.
ΚΠ
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. x. 37 The frailty of our owne Oeconomie, were able to betray us out of truth. View more context for this quotation
1659 W. Charleton Nat. Hist. Nutrition 142 That the Aer passing to the Heart, and the (supposed) fuliginous exhalations issuing from the Heart, should be carried through one and the same vessel, by contrary motions; is insolent to Nature, and incompetent to the oeconomy of the body.
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall 345 The whole Oeconomy of the Body.
a1704 T. Brown Declam. Praise Poverty (rev. ed.) in Wks. (1730) I. 95 The whole oeconomy of their brain is corrupted.
1772 D. Hume Ess. & Treat. (new ed.) I. xvii. 186 With regard to the œconomy of the mind..all vice is indeed pernicious.
1869 Philos. Trans. 1868 (Royal Soc.) 158 624 The substances formed by this process of chemical addition, although isomorphous with hæmoglobin, differ from it in many of those remarkable properties upon which its functions in the economy of the body depend.
1880 J. W. Legg On Bile 193 An effort of the œconomy to eject the poison.
1905 Lancet 18 Mar. 717/1 Proteids had other uses in the economy of the body both in the direction of resistance against disease and as a possible source of stimulation of activity.
1949 H. W. C. Vines Green's Man. Pathol. (ed. 17) xiv. 327 A neoplasm or new growth, loosely called a tumour..serves no useful purpose in the economy of the body.
1962 Amer. Jrnl. Cardiol. 9 372/2 Myocardial oxygen consumption and the effect of the latter on regional and total body economy.
1997 Imprimis Jan. 3/2 In the economy of mind, everything is going micro not macro, individual, not collective, toward dynamism, not equilibrium.
a. spec. Of a poem, play, etc. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1637 J. Rutter in tr. P. Corneille Cid Prol. sig. A4v The Play it self, being a true History,..I would willingly propose to be imitated of our undertakers in the like kind, I mean for the conveyance, and (as I may call it) the Œconomy of it.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes Pref. 5 Such œconomy, or disposition of the fable as may stand best with..decorum.
1697 K. Chetwood Pref. to Pastorals in J. Dryden tr. Virgil Wks. sig. ****2v In this..Oeconomy of a Poem, Virgil much excells..Theocritus.
b. gen. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > [noun] > of any product of human design
economy1730
1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres xi. 311 The Crossings of Stairs..would confound the Oeconomy of the Building [It. confondono tutta l'economia della fabrica].
1734 I. Watts Reliquiæ Juveniles lxiv. 282 An odd sort of Elegance in the Oeconomy of her Table.
1751 T. Smollett Peregrine Pickle II. xli. 23 The œconomy of the table was re-composed.
1756 G. Colman & B. Thornton Connoisseur No. 103 That the oeconomy of the beaufait..may not be disarranged.
10.
a. Biology. The interactions between organisms, their individual biology, form, and functions; (in later use often) spec. physiology. Esp. in animal economy, vegetable economy, etc. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > study > [noun] > other biological studies
economy1683
parthenology1853
phenology1884
genetics1905
behavioural science1937
anthrozoology1992
1683 W. Charleton Three Anat. Lect. i. 33 The admirable effects and benefits arising to the Animal Oeconomy from the same Velocity of the Circulation of the Bloud.
1697 Philos. Trans. 1695–7 (Royal Soc.) 19 558 Dendranatome may, tho' more remotely, advance even the Practice of Physick, by the Discovery of the Oeconomy of Plants.
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks II. iv. 19 An Animal-Order or Oeconomy, according to which the Animal Affairs are regulated and dispos'd.
a1722 J. Toland Coll. Several Pieces (1726) II. 290 To let 'em see I know something of the animal economy, tho' little of their juggling.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Absorption Absorption in the animal economy is used for that power whereby the small open orifices of vessels imbibe liquors.
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. Introd. 2 They..had no idea..of the vegetable œconomy.
1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. xxv. 304 The bottoms of ships are made to terminate behind in a shape somewhat resembling a wedge; and the same economy may be observed in the forms of fishes.
1813 H. Davy Elements Agric. Chem. v. 182 Water is absolutely necessary to the œconomy of vegetation.
1833 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 123 624 Some observations on the economy of molluscous animals.
1879 Proc. Royal Soc. 30 404 We cannot consider..that so well-marked and striking a function of the small intestine as that converting maltose into dextrose can be useless to the animal economy.
1946 A. Nelson Princ. Agric. Bot. xiv. 324 Phosphorus is of fundamental importance in the economy of the plant, involved as it is in protein formation, as well as in respiration and other functions.
1967 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 113 803/1 Lorenz contrasts intraspecific aggression with the aggression shown between members of different species; in animal economy the latter plays much the lesser role.
2000 Isis 91 738 The generally acknowledged ‘founder’ of pneumatic chemistry, Stephen Hales, carried out experiments on the circulation and other aspects of the ‘animal economy’ and the movement of sap in plants.
b. Biology. The manner in which particular nutrients are metabolized or allocated in the plant or animal body. Also: nutrient use and flow in a specific ecosystem.
ΚΠ
1904 A. C. Croftan Clin. Urinology 208 The urinary Ca excretion is no true index of the Ca–economy of the organism.
1939 A. T. Shohl Mineral Metabolism iii. 88 The feces are the main regulator of calcium and phosphorus economy.
1954 Science 5 Feb. 188/1 The possible importance of nitrite production by heterotrophic organisms to the nitrogen economy of the soil.
1990 Jrnl. Exper. Bot. 41 952/2 The growth analysis..enables us to define certain stages in the carbon economy of the crop.
2007 Environmental Pollution 147 491/1 Increased dark respiration..and longevity of foliar biomass contribute to altering the carbon economy of O3-sensitive eastern white pine trees.
11. The organization or condition of a community or nation with respect to economic factors, esp. the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money (now frequently with the); (also) a particular economic system.Frequently in compounds, as black, grey, knowledge, market, share economy, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun]
political economya1687
finance1763
economic system1815
economy1892
plan1927
1892 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 1 137 Taxes are still the main support of the State's economy.
1924 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. 87 223 The importance in our nation's economy of, say, cotton or wool.
1939 Fortune Oct. 56/2 Germany's ‘fortress economy’ has been built up by diverting consumer purchasing power into capital for armaments and other state-sponsored projects.
1941 Econ. Jrnl. 51 230 In the above paragraphs and the accompanying table the economy has been divided into three sectors.
1959 Listener 12 Feb. 273/1 The British economy, so far from being inflationary, was suffering from a marked amount of excess capacity.
1969 R. Smith Cape Breton Thought Control Centre Canada 26 In the near distance, several lines of new smoke-stacks puff their evidence of Poland's stable and bullish economy.
1974 S. Terkel Working vi. 332 If there were no stock market, I think the economy would be stifled.
1988 R. Dole & E. Dole Doles v. 128 The first Arab oil embargo was sending shock waves through the American economy.
1991 Industr. Law Jrnl. 20 235 The employee who loses his or her job in an economy which uses market exchanges to direct labour towards remunerative employment is immediately deprived of his or her major source of wealth.
2000 Business Recorder (Karachi) 10 Apr. 2/7 ‘Cartelisation’..in the name of small shareholders must be shunned in the larger interest of the economy.
Phrases
P1.
economy of truth n. (also economy with the truth) the presentation of the truth in such a way as to suit particular circumstances; discreditable or expedient reticence; (also) an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > [noun] > telling of falsehoods, lying
leasingc950
fablinga1300
lyinga1300
menteryc1450
blanching1581
forgery1582
whetstone-leasing1598
Creticism1614
mentition1656
falsehood1662
storytelling1681
mendaciloquencec1710
fibbing1749
economy of truth1796
fibbery1857
1796 E. Burke Two Lett. Peace Regicide Directory France i. 137 Falsehood and delusion are allowed in no case whatever; But..there is an œconomy of truth..a sort of temperance, by which a man speaks truth with measure that he may speak it the longer.
1872 E. Crapsey Nether Side N.Y. ii. 7 I do not mean to say that without this foundation, we would have only peace, plenty, and virtue, for such a statement would be a most unwise economy of truth.
1892 Times 19 Feb. 3/6 Official answers in the Houses of Parliament show..economy of truth, if of nothing else.
1937 Amer. Math. Monthly 44 140 If Ramanujan's friends assumed that he accepted the conventional doctrines of such a religion,..he was practising a quite harmless, and probably necessary, economy of truth.
1994 ELH 61 926 An individual's projection of honesty..creates more intrigue when it flirts with a certain economy of truth without falling into cultivated dishonesty.
2002 New Yorker 9 Dec. 105/3 After a lot of flimflammery and economy with the truth, Nair managed to cajole completion cash out of a French company.
P2.
economies of scale n. (also economy of scale) the relative gain in output or saving of costs resulting from the greater efficiency of large-scale processes; also in extended use; cf. quot. 1890 at sense 6b and external economy at external adj. and n. Additions.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > profit > [noun] > relative gain by increase in size
economies of scale1944
1944 A. Cairncross Introd. Econ. vi. 61 The economies of large-scale production—called for short ‘economies of scale’—may be either ‘internal’ or ‘external’.
1953 A. W. Stonier & D. C. Hague Textbk. Econ. Theory x. 221 Over relatively low levels of output it is likely that increasing returns to outlay will occur, because with larger output there are economies of scale to be reaped.
1961 Times 4 July 1/3 Is this apparent lack of economy of scale inherent in farming?
1986 F. McGowan & C. Trengrove European Aviation ii. ii. 27 Where there are economies of scale or scope, a marginal cost-based price structure will not provide sufficient revenues to cover total costs.
1991 C. Eddy Stairway to Hell 53/2 This sounds like nothing ever: Too rounded to be thrash, too economy-of-scale technostructured to be boogie.
2006 C. Anderson Long Tail ix. 155 Big-box retailers..have changed the face of the music industry with their unmatchable economies of scale.
P3.
economies of scope n. (also economy of scope) the relative gain in efficiency or sales which may result from producing, distributing, or marketing a range of products, as opposed to a single product or type of product.
ΚΠ
1977 Bell Jrnl. Econ. 8 12 Strict subadditivity of the cost function follows from DAIC together with cost complementarities (actually, only the weaker condition of ‘economies of scope’ is needed).
1991 Fiscal Stud. Aug. 80 An economy of scope is an unavoidable externality attached to multi-product production.
1994 P. Ormerod Death of Econ. (1995) iii. 61 Flexible production permits economies of scope and product variety at much lower volumes of production than is possible under systems of mass production.
2003 Casino.com Mag. Autumn 21/1 We will see..a polarisation between one-stop brands with real economies of scale versus brands with genuine economies of scope.
P4. North American Military slang. on the economy: away from the military base, in local (rather than military) housing. Chiefly in to live on the economy.In quot. 1951 in extended use, with reference to refugees relocated outside of refugee camps.
ΚΠ
1951 Supplemental Appropriations for 1952 (U. S. Congr. Senate Comm. Appropriations) 1226 The International Refugee Organization still has some camps open, but that program is almost liquidated, and most of the people now are living on the economy, such as it is, over in Europe.
1956 Washington Post 19 June 27/1 In England, where housing is scarce, GI's of all ranks live ‘on the economy’.
1960 Encounter Feb. 31/2 The G.I.'s and their wives, even those who are out in the villages (‘on the economy’) make the Base the centre of their lives.
1989 L. S. Cline Today's Mil. Wife vii. 145 Living on the economy gives a true flavor of what life in another country is like.
2002 Navy Supply Corps Newsletter (Nexis) 1 Nov. 44 Living on the economy is an adventure that should not be missed. Many officers choose to remain off base when on base housing is offered.
Compounds
C1. attributive. Designating consumer products, services, etc., which are designed to be cheaper or more efficient for the customer, as economy car, economy fare, etc.; (also) that enables one to make economies.
ΚΠ
1821 M. Wilmot Let. 21 Dec. (1935) 149 One of the œconomy Leghorn hats, intended to be cut in two on arriving in England.
1908 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 117. 19 The Economy cream separator saves $1500 yearly on each cow.
1944 A. Thirkell Headmistress xi. 237 She..licked the so-called economy label that was to take the envelope back to its sender.
1959 ASTA Trav. News Feb. 140 (advt.) Full tourist savings 30% to 50% under lowest Economy Fares!
1967 Gloss. Terms Gas Industry (B.S.I.) 93 Economy valve, a valve which enables hot water to be stored either in part or the whole of the storage vessel.
1976 Milton Keynes Express 28 May 49/1 (advt.) Peugeot 104 Saloon 4-door, economy car in white, folding rear seat.
1984 Which? Jan. 19/3 E is an economy programme. Cost savings may result from reduced wash temperature.
1993 Lloyd's List 9 Feb. 7/3 Many seafarers would relish the chance of travelling in an upgraded style with the full flexibility of a full fare economy ticket.
1999 T. Parsons Man & Boy (2000) xxv. 211 She was just one economy flight on Lufthansa away from a bedroom full of stuffed toys and having her mum do her washing.
C2.
economy class n. the cheapest class of a service or product, esp. with reference to passenger air travel; frequently (hyphenated) attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > transport by air > [noun] > class of accommodation
tourist class1936
economy1958
economy class1958
tourist1976
club class1978
cattle class1983
1958 New Yorker 24 May 66/1 (advt.) Shamrock Thriftflite service. Direct to Shannon and Dublin. Economy class.
1963 Daily Tel. 13 May 12/2 A five per cent. increase in the cost of ‘economy-class’ travel across the Atlantic.
1986 F. McGowan & C. Trengrove European Aviation iii. Gloss. 155 The former consist of first class and business or coach or most commonly economy class fares and are defined by their lack of restrictions in terms of service (i.e. reservations, ticketing, etc.).
2005 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 26 June v. 7 (advt.) Widest seats of any economy class. 5″ of extra legroom. Greater seat recline. Adjustable leg and foot rests.
economy class syndrome n. colloquial deep-vein thrombosis attributed to prolonged immobility on long-haul flights (so called because the reduced legroom in economy class is considered by some to be a possible contributory factor).
ΚΠ
1977 Brit. Jrnl. Dis. Chest 71 140 The term ‘economy class syndrome’ has been used to describe the venous problems caused by the cramped seating arrangements in modern aircraft.
1985 Acta Chirurgica Scandinavica 151 643 (title) Female neuropathy following anticoagulant therapy for ‘economy class syndrome’ in a young woman.
2002 Times 4 Apr. 32/3 The expression ‘economy class syndrome’ should not be used. Anybody who travels in a plane or who is immobile for a long period is at risk.
economy drive n. originally U.S. (originally) the sale of goods or stocks at a particularly low price; (now) a campaign to make savings by reducing expenses.
ΚΠ
1917 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 16 Dec. (Outing section) 48/4 (advt.) The ‘Special Economy Drive’ is for December only.
1920 Evening State Jrnl. (Lincoln, Nebraska) 20 Mar. 1/1 Mrs. Charles Ryan, head of the state economy drive... In the thrift campaign emphasis is placed of the real meaning of thrift.
2007 Independent (Nexis) 10 Mar. (Save & Spend section) 10 Mr Millard is in a money panic... ‘We are going to have to go on an economy drive,’ he says glumly.
Economy 7 n. British an energy tariff which provides low-cost night-time electricity during a specified seven-hour period.
ΚΠ
1978 Times 19 July 7/6 The new scheme, called Economy 7, will give the off-peak charge [for domestic electricity] for seven..hours.
1993 Collins Compl. DIY Man. (new ed.) vii. 325/1 You can..[fit] an Economy 7 programmer, a device that will switch your immersion heater on automatically at night and heat up the whole cylinder.
2006 Guardian (Nexis) 20 Sept. (Suppl.) 2 My main expense will be Economy 7 at night.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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