1 the system of production and distribution and consumption [syn: economic system]
2 the efficient use of resources; "economy of effort"
3 frugality in the expenditure of money or resources; "the Scots are famous for their economy" [syn: thriftiness]
4 an act of economizing; reduction in cost; "it was a small economy to walk to work every day"; "there was a saving of 50 cents" [syn: saving]
EtymologyThe word "economy" can be traced back to the Greek word οικονομία (ikonomía), "one who manages a household", derived from noun οικος (íkos), "house", and verb νέμω (némo), "distribute (especially, manage)". From οικονόμος was derived οικονομία, which had not only the sense "management of a household or family" but also senses such as "thrift", "direction", "administration", "arrangement", and "public revenue of a state". 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. Economy is later recorded in other senses shared by οικονομία in Greek, including "thrift" and "administration". What is probably the most frequently used current sense, "the economic system of a country or an area", seems not to have developed until the 19th or 20th century.
- Effective management of the resources of a community or system.
- The collective focus of the study of money, currency and trade, and the efficient use of resources.
- Frugal use of resources.
- The overall measure of a currency system; as the national economy.
- The method of divine government of the world.
Derived termsrel-top terms derived from economy
Related termsrel-top terms related to economy
- Chinese: 經濟/经济 (jīng jì)
- Czech: hospodářství
- Estonian: majandus
- Danish: økonomi
- Dutch: economie
- Faroese: búskapur
- French: économie
- German: Wirtschaft , Ökonomie
- Greek: οικονομία (ikonomía)
- Ido: ekonomi
- Italian: economia
- Japanese: 経済 (けいざい, keizai)
- Korean: 경제 (gyeongje)
- Kurdish: aborî , ekonomî , îqtisad ,
- Latin: oeconomia, œconomia
- Luxembourgian: Ökonomie
- Malaysian: ekonomi
- Norwegian: økonomi ?
- Portuguese: cheap: econômico ; science: economia
- Russian: экономика (ekonómika)
- * Cyrillic: економија
- * Roman: ekonomija
- Spanish: economía
- Swedish: ekonomi
- Turkish: ekonomi
- Russian: экономный (ekonómnyj)
An economy is the realized system of human activities related to the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area.
The composition of a given economy is inseparable from technological evolution, civilization's history and social organization, as well as from Earth's geography and ecology, e.g. ecoregions which represent different agricultural and resource extraction opportunities, among other factors. Economy refers also to the measure of how a country or region is progressing in terms of product.
Origins and Etymology
The word "economy" can be traced back to the word οικονομία, "one who manages a household", derived from οικος, "house", and νέμω, "distribute (especially, manage)". From οικονόμος of a household or family" but also senses such as "thrift", "direction", "administration", "arrangement", and "public revenue of a state". 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. Economy is later recorded in other senses shared by οικονομία in Greek, including "thrift" and "administration". The most frequently used current sense, "the economic system of a country or an area", seems not to have developed until the 19th or 20th century.
HistoryThe earliest economic activity centered around food gathering and animal hunting. During the Stone Age, which lasted until about 11000 years ago, early humans wandered in tribal or family groups, hunting animals for food and picking nuts, berries, and fruits where they could. All of this continued until an agricultural revolution occurred. Through a gradual process of thousands of years, people eventually domesticated wild plants and a