Economies

How to spell economies

9 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce economies

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does economies mean?

1. nounThe systems by which countries or regions produce, distribute, and consume wealth and resources.
2. nounReductions in spending or instances of careful saving made to cut costs.

Economies in a sentence

• The report compared the developing economies of several neighbouring countries.

• The company made several economies by closing its smaller branches.

• Global economies slowed sharply during the recession.

• Buying in bulk produces real economies over the course of a year.

Where does economies come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the ancient Greek oikonomia, which literally meant 'household management', built from oikos meaning 'house' and nemein meaning 'to manage' or 'to distribute'. In its earliest sense it described the careful running of a family's affairs and resources, a meaning that survives in the idea of being economical. It passed into Latin as oeconomia and then into English through French in the sixteenth century, at first still tied to thrifty management of a home or estate. Over the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the sense widened from a single household to the wealth and resources of a whole nation, giving us the modern meaning of a country's financial system. The plural economies covers both that grand national sense and the older everyday sense of money-saving measures, and the silent 'o' in the eco- opening is the quiet reminder of the Greek 'house' at its root.

How the word is built

• eco- (from Greek oikos: house, household)
• nom (from nemein: to manage, distribute)
• -y (noun)
• -es (plural)