# dismal science

> English word · Noun

## Definitions
1. Economics or the field of political economy.

## Etymology
Coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1849, a play on gay science (“poetry”).

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dismal-science