ineconomy
English
WOTD – 1 December 2021
Etymology
From in- (prefix meaning ‘lacking, without’) + economy.[1]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌɪniːˈkɒnəmi/
Audio (Southern England) (file) - (General American) IPA(key): /ˌɪnəˈkɑnəmi/
- Rhymes: -ɒnəmi
- Hyphenation: in‧e‧con‧omy
Noun
ineconomy (countable and uncountable, plural ineconomies)
- Lack of economy; waste (of resources, etc.). [from late 19th c.]
- Synonym: uneconomicalness
- Antonyms: economy, frugality
- 1894 September 21, E. Tremlett Carter, “Motive Power and Gearing”, in The Electrician: A Weekly Illustrated Journal of Electrical Engineering, Industry and Science, volume XXXIII, number 853, London: […] George Tucker, […], OCLC 989410563, page 593, column 2:
- The sources of ineconomy in steam engines may broadly be classed under the two heads: failure to obtain indicated work from the energy of the steam, and dissipation of the indicated work in overcoming engine friction.
- 1938, Xavier Herbert, “Heir to All the Ages”, in Capricornia […], New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton-Century Co., published 1943, OCLC 462159385, page 69:
- [T]he mouth of the salt-water creek was usually surging like a mill-race, but wasting its power—or so it had been—on transporting such things as jellyfish, leaves, and crocodiles. This waste had been the cause of great irritation to Mark, who, though careless of most forms of ineconomy, could not bear to see the wasting of natural force.
Related terms
- ineconomic
- noneconomic
- noneconomical
- uneconomic
- uneconomical
- uneconomically
- uneconomicalness
Translations
lack of economy
References
- “ineconomy, n.”, in OED Online
, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2019.
Further reading
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “ineconomy”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.