Oikonomikos

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to the management of household affairs or resources
2. pertaining to the principles of economics and financial matters
3. describing concepts involved in the organization and administration of economic activities

Etymology: Ancient Greek "oikonomia" meant the management of a household, from "oikos" (house) and "nomos" (law, custom, management). "Oikonomikos" was the adjective for anything relating to that household management, and Aristotle wrote a short treatise under a similar title, the "Oeconomica," though its authorship is disputed. The idea was modest: a good household was a small, well-run system of resources, labour and obligations. The word moved into Latin as "oeconomicus" and then into English through French, where it developed the sense of thrift and prudent handling of money. Over time the household scale expanded into the wider economy, so that the adjective came to describe how whole nations and markets are organised, and the same root produced "economy" itself.

Synonyms: economic, household management related

Antonyms: uneconomic