Etymograph

English

economy

Economy comes from Middle English yconomye, from Latin oeconomia, from Ancient Greek οἰκονομία ‘household management’ (οἶκος ‘house’ + νέμω ‘to distribute’).

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEοἰκονομία1oikonomía‘household management’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoeconomia1
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400yconomie1uncertain
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yconomye1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1857economy1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English economy
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1857, Thomas Hughes: “The place pleased them so much that they spent…”.

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEοἰκονομίαWiktionary, English economyoikonomía‘household management’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEoeconomiaWiktionary, English economy
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400yconomieWiktionary, English economyuncertain
  4. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500yconomyeWiktionary, English economy
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1857economyWiktionary, English economy. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1857, Thomas Hughes: “The place pleased them so much that they spent…”

A compound of οἶκος ‘house’ + νέμω ‘distribute, allocate’

Proto-Indo-European *weyḱ- ‘to enter in, settle’

Proto-Indo-European *wóyḱos ‘settlement’

Proto-Hellenic *wóikos ‘a settlement’

Ancient Greek οἶκος ‘house’

Proto-Indo-European *ném-e-ti ‘to assign, allot’

Proto-Hellenic *némō

Ancient Greek νέμω ‘distribute, allocate’

first attested 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 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)

The story

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.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Ancient Greek οἰκονομία

Today it means

noun The regular operation of nature in the generation, nutrition and preservation of animals or plants.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “economy”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek οἰκονομία / economy

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