economy

Where does the word "economy" come from? It comes from Greek oikonomia, passing through Latin and French before entering English (1500s).

Economy’s story begins in Greek: oikonomia meant “household management.” From "oikos" (house) and "nomos" (managing), household management. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Latin as oeconomia. Xenophon's 'Oeconomicus' dealt with managing a household; the national sense came in the 1600s. From there it passed into French as economie by medieval. Broadened to mean the management of resources generally. It reached English by 1500s as economy. Settled as the English term for a system of resource management. Today, economy means a system for producing, distributing, and consuming goods and resources.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient oikonomia "household management", from "oikos" (house) and "nomos" (managing), household management.
2. Stage 2 · Latin · ancient oeconomia "management, order", Xenophon's 'Oeconomicus' dealt with managing a household; the national sense came in the 1600s.
3. Stage 3 · French · medieval economie "management of resources", broadened to mean the management of resources generally.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1500s economy "a system of production and exchange of goods", settled as the English term for a system of resource management.