4

Some dictionaries seem to include the word "thrift" at the end of the definition for oikonomia. I found some good examples on the Online Etymology Dictionary and on Merriam-Webster:

Greek oikonomia "household management, thrift.

I would like to know the source of this meaning, as it seems that oikonomos is directly understood as only household management.

When and how did the word "economy" start to mean a thrift household management?

6
  • 1
    @luchonacho Good thought, but LSJ also includes "thrift", citing several classical authors.
    – Draconis
    Commented Aug 8, 2018 at 19:21
  • 3
    How? I think the semantic shift is pretty obvious.
    – Alex B.
    Commented Aug 9, 2018 at 15:03
  • 1
    @Draconis. It might be useful, if anyone has the time, to look up the references in LSJ and determine whether any of them really requires the meaning "thrifty house-keeping".
    – fdb
    Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 13:55
  • 2
    The correct term would be a metonymic (semantic) change or shift. While it’s very easy to envision such a change, I’m not entirely sure if it happened in Ancient Greek. Let’s look at some examples.
    – Alex B.
    Commented Aug 10, 2018 at 14:31
  • 1
    I'd concur with @Alex B. "Management, oversight, administration, of property" obviously entails care with preservation of resources. It happened in Ancient Greece. Commented Jul 27, 2021 at 20:35

0

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.