Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
frugal - 4 dictionary results
New: Organize Yourself -
 Gain 3 hours every day, for life - They laughed at me until it worked!
 OrganizeYourselfOnline.com

fru⋅gal

  [froo-guhl]
Use frugal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful: a frugal manager.
2. entailing little expense; requiring few resources; meager; scanty: a frugal meal.
Origin:
1590–1600; < L frūgālis economical, equiv. to frūg- (s. of frūx produce, fruit ) + -ālis -al 1

Related forms:
fru⋅gal⋅i⋅ty, fru⋅gal⋅ness, noun
fru⋅gal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. thrifty, chary, provident, careful. See economical.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To frugal
fru·gal   (frōō'gəl)   
adj.  
  1. Practicing or marked by economy, as in the expenditure of money or the use of material resources. See Synonyms at sparing.
  2. Costing little; inexpensive: a frugal lunch.

[Latin frūgālis, virtuous, thrifty, from frūx, frūg-, fruit, virtue.]
fru·gal'i·ty (frōō-gāl'ĭ-tē), fru'gal·ness n., fru'gal·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Frugal

Fru"gal\, a. [L. frugalis, fr. frugi, lit., for fruit; hence, fit for food, useful, proper, temperate, the dative of frux, frugis, fruit, akin to E. fruit: cf. F. frugal. See Fruit, n.]

1. Economical in the use or appropriation of resources; not wasteful or lavish; wise in the expenditure or application of force, materials, time, etc.; characterized by frugality; sparing; economical; saving; as, a frugal housekeeper; frugal of time.

I oft admire How Nature, wise and frugal, could commit Such disproportions. --Milton.

2. Obtained by, or appropriate to, economy; as, a frugal fortune. "Frugal fare." --Dryden.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : frugal
Spanish: frugal, económico,
German: sparsam,
Japanese: 質素な
More Translations »

frugal 
1598, from M.Fr. frugal, from L. frugalis, from undeclined adj. frugi "economical, useful, proper," originally dat. of frux (pl. fruges) "fruit, profit, value," related to fructus (see fruit). Sense evolved in L. from "useful" to "profitable" to "economical."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see frugal on Thesaurus | Reference
New: Organize Yourself -
 Gain 3 hours every day, for life - They laughed at me until it worked!
 OrganizeYourselfOnline.com