[econ.o.my] n, pl -mies [MF yconomie, fr. ML oeconomia, fr. Gk oikonomia, fr. oikonomos household manager, fr. oikos house + nemein to manage--more at vicinity, nimble] (15c) 1 archaic: the management of household or private affairs and esp. expenses
2. a: thrifty and efficient use of material resources: frugality in expenditures; also: an instance or a means of economizing: saving b: efficient and concise use of nonmaterial resources (as effort, language, or motion)
3: the arrangement or mode of operation of something: organization
4: the structure of economic life in a country, area, or period; specif: an economic system
[2]economy adj (ca. 1906): designed to save money "~ cars"