parsimony

Advancedzipf 2.11

Pronunciation

/ˈpɑːsɪməni/(PAR-sih-muh-nee)

Part of speech

nounformal

Chinese

吝啬；极度节俭

Definition

Extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources; (scientific) the principle of using the simplest explanation.

Word family

  • parsimonious/ˌpɑːsɪˈməʊniəs/(adj)吝啬的
  • parsimoniously/ˌpɑːsɪˈməʊniəsli/(adv)吝啬地

Collocations

  • extreme parsimony
  • parsimony of expression
  • principle of parsimony
  • Occam's parsimony

Examples

  1. 1.His parsimony was legendary — he reused tea bags and never tipped. (extreme stinginess)
  2. 2.In science, the principle of parsimony suggests preferring the simplest explanation that fits the data. (Occam's razor)

Synonyms

  • frugality/fruːˈɡælɪti/— careful spending, neutral/positive
  • miserliness/ˈmaɪzəlɪnəs/— extreme stinginess, negative
  • thrift/θrɪft/— careful use of money, positive

Etymology

from Latin "parsimonia" — "parcere" = to spare — sparing to an extreme degree