parsimony
par·si·mony/ˈpɑɹsəˌmoʊni/noun
parsimony is spelled P-A-R-S-I-M-O-N-Y: 9 letters and 3 syllables (par·si·mony). It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, parsimony means “With a negative connotation: great reluctance to spend money or other resources; miserliness, stinginess; (countable) an instance of this” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of parsimony is parsimonies.
How many letters and syllables are in parsimony?
| Letters | 9: P-A-R-S-I-M-O-N-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: par·si·mony |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 83,271st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is parsimony?
Parsimony appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce parsimony?
- UK /ˈpɑːsɪməni/
- US /ˈpɑɹsəˌmoʊni/
Parsimony has 3 syllables, split par·si·mony in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-parsimony.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-parsimony.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of parsimony
- parsimonies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does parsimony mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
With a negative connotation: great reluctance to spend money or other resources; miserliness, stinginess; (countable) an instance of this.
- 2
archaicWith a positive connotation: careful spending of money or other resources; frugality, thrift; (countable) an instance of this.
- 3
archaicThe quality of not generously giving, showing, or using something intangible, such as emotion, praise, or words.
- 4
archaicChiefly in law of parsimony, principle of parsimony, etc.: the quality or characteristic of using the fewest facts or resources to explain a situation or to solve a problem.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Parsimony in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | parcimonie , économie |
| German | Geiz, Knauserei, Pfennigfuchserei, Sparsamkeit , Parsimonie |
| Portuguese | parcimónia, parcimônia |
| Spanish | parsimonia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does parsimony come from?
From Late Middle English parcimonie, parcimony (“economy, frugality, thrift”), borrowed from Latin parcimōnia, parsimōnia (“frugality, thrift, parsimony; moderation, restraint; stinginess”), from pars- (the past participial stem of parcō (“to economize, save up; etc.”)) + -mōnia (suffix forming abstract nouns). The further etymology of parcō is uncertain; it is possibly from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“away; off”) + *h₂erk- (“to hold; to guard, protect; to lock”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).