ˈ ̷ ̷səˌmōnē, -ni, Brit usually & US sometimes -sə̇mən- noun
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English parcimony, from Latin parsimonia, from parsus (past participle of parcere to spare); perhaps akin to Greek porkēs hoop around the joint of a spearhead and its shaft, Armenian ors fishnet
1.
a. : carefulness in the expenditure of money or resources : thrift
not a single institution appropriate to an economy of parsimony will remain unaltered in an economy of surplus — Lewis Mumford
b. : closeness in such expenditure ; specifically : reprehensively excessive frugality : niggardliness , stinginess
despised for their sordid parsimony — G.E.Fussell
2. : economy in the use of a specific means to an end:
a. : economy of assumption in reasoning or ascription of existence — used chiefly in the phrase law of parsimony ; compare ockham's razor
b. : animal or human economy (as of pain or effort) in seeking pleasure or gain