parsimony

/ˈpɑɹ.səˌmoʊ.ni/

//ˈpɑɹ.səˌmoʊ.ni// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"parsimony" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“parsimony” is uncommon English (frequency #83,603 among 4,417 “P” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#83,603
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily.

Corpus desk

Index EN-parsimony · parsimony · English

parsimony · rank #83,603 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #83,603
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH parameterized

Nearest frequency peer: parameterized (-2 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “parsimony”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “parsimony” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for parsimony
PropertyValue
Headwordparsimony
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈpɑɹ.səˌmoʊ.ni/
Letters9
Frequency rank#83,603
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “parsimony” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).parsimonyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Rare peers in the same band: “parameterized” (#83,601), “Parveen” (#83,605), “Patmos” (#83,606). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “parsimony” is #83,603. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

parsimony is uncommon English at frequency #83,603 among 4,417 “P” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpɑɹ.səˌmoʊ.ni/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for parsimony, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English parcimonie, from Middle French parsimonie, from Latin parsimōnia (“frugality, sparingness”), from pars-, past participle stem of parcere (“to spare”), + -monia, suffix signifying action, state, or condition. The correct English form is parsimony, spelled P-A-R-S-I-M-O-N-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily.
  2. 2
    The quality or characteristic of using the fewest resources or explanations to solve a problem.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how parsimony appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Near-synonyms: (usually admirable) frugality, economy, thrift, thriftiness; (excessive degree) tightness, stinginess; (extreme degree) miserliness; see also Thesaurus:frugal, Thesaurus:stingy
  2. Parsimony, and not industry, is the immediate cause of the increase of capital. Industry, indeed, provides the subject which parsimony accumulates. But whatever industry might acquire, if parsimony did not save and store up, the capital would never be the greater.

Etymology

From Middle English parcimonie, from Middle French parsimonie, from Latin parsimōnia (“frugality, sparingness”), from pars-, past participle stem of parcere (“to spare”), + -monia, suffix signifying action, state, or condition.

This word in other languages

parsimonia(Español)parcimonie(Français)Sparsamkeit(Deutsch)parcimónia(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "parsimony"?
"parsimony" is spelled P-A-R-S-I-M-O-N-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈpɑɹ.səˌmoʊ.ni/.
What does "parsimony" mean?
As a noun, "parsimony" means: Great reluctance to spend money unnecessarily.
How do you pronounce "parsimony"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "parsimony" is /ˈpɑɹ.səˌmoʊ.ni/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "parsimony"?
From Middle English parcimonie, from Middle French parsimonie, from Latin parsimōnia (“frugality, sparingness”), from pars-, past participle stem of parcere (“to spare”), + -monia, suffix signifying action, state, or condition. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "parsimony", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

paparazzo#83,598pedagogic#83,608peppering#83,612ouroboros#83,584

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list