Parsimony definition | Dictionary.com

par⋅si⋅mo⋅ny

[pahr-suh-moh-nee]

–noun

extreme or excessive economy or frugality; stinginess; niggardliness.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME parcimony < L parsimōnia, parcimōnia frugality, thrift, equiv. to parsi- (comb. form of parsus, ptp. of parcere to economize) or parci- (comb. form of parcus sparing) + -mōnia -mony

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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par·si·mo·ny (pär'sə-mō'nē)

Unusual or excessive frugality; extreme economy or stinginess.
Adoption of the simplest assumption in the formulation of a theory or in the interpretation of data, especially in accordance with the rule of Ockham's razor.

[Middle English parcimony, from Latin parsimōnia, from parsus, past participle of parcere, to spare.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Parsimony

Par"si*mo*ny\, n. [L. parsimonia, parcimonia; cf. parcere to spare, parsus sparing: cf. F. parcimonie.] Closeness or sparingness in the expenditure of money; -- generally in a bad sense; excessive frugality; niggardliness. --Bacon.

Awful parsimony presided generally at the table. --Thackeray.

Syn: Economy; frugality; illiberality; covetousness; closeness; stinginess. See Economy.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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parsimony

1432, from L. parsimonia "sparingness, frugality," from pars-, stem of parsi, perf. tense of parcere "to spare, save" + -monia, suffix signifying action or condition. Parsimonious first attested 1598, not originally with suggestion of stinginess.

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