frugal

frugal
\ \ [16] Paradoxically, frugal comes from a source that meant ‘fruitful’. English borrowed it from Latin frūgālis, which was derived from the adjective frūgī ‘useful’. This in turn was the dative case of the noun frūx ‘fruit, value’, which came from the same base as frūctus, the source of English fruit. The links in the semantic chain seem to have been that something that was ‘useful, valuable, or productive’ was also ‘profitable’, and that in order to be ‘profitable’ it must be ‘economical’ – hence frugal’s connotations of ‘careful expenditure’.
\ \ Cf.⇒ FRUIT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • frugal — frugal, ale, aux [ frygal, o ] adj. • 1534; lat. imp. frugalis 1 ♦ Qui consiste en aliments simples, peu recherchés, peu abondants. Nourriture frugale, repas frugal. 2 ♦ Qui se contente d une nourriture simple. ⇒ sobre. « Sénèque était frugal;… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • frugal — FRUGÁL, Ă, frugali, e, adj. (Despre mese, prânzuri) Alcătuit din bucate puţine (şi simple). – Din fr. frugal, lat. frugalis. Trimis de RACAI, 21.11.2003. Sursa: DEX 98  FRUGÁL adj. uşor. (O masă frugal.) Trimis de siveco, 05.08.2004. Sursa:… …   Dicționar Român

  • frugal — frugal, ale, (fru gal, ga l ) adj. Qui se contente d une nourriture simple, d aliments peu recherchés. Il est très frugal. •   Sénèque était frugal ; riche, il vivait comme s il eût été pauvre, DIDER. Claude et Nér. II, 37.    Il se dit des… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • frugal — fru‧gal [ˈfruːgl] adjective careful to buy only what is necessary: • The pay settlement must be frugal in order to avoid layoffs. • People who rely on the basic retirement pension must live a frugal existence. • We re having to be very frugal… …   Financial and business terms

  • 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 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • frugal — Adj einfach, gesund und nahrhaft erw. fremd. Erkennbar fremd (18. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus frz. frugal, dieses aus l. frūgālis Nutzen bringend, zu den Früchten gehörig , zu l. frūx ( ūgis) Frucht, Getreide , zu l. fruī von etwas Genuß haben …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • frugal — adjetivo 1. (antepuesto / pospuesto) Uso/registro: elevado. Que es poco abundante o moderado: cena frugal, frugal almuerzo, vida frugal. 2. Uso/registro: elevado. Que actúa con sobriedad y moderación en la comida y en la bebida: Es una persona… …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

  • frugal — FRUGAL, [fruga]le. adj. Sobre, Qui se contente de peu pour sa nourriture. Il est extremement frugal. il meine une vie fort frugale. On dit, Repas frugal, table frugale, pour dire, Un repas, une table où il n y a à manger que ce qu il faut… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • frugal — [fro͞o′gəl] adj. [L frugalis < frugi, fit for food, hence proper, worthy, frugal, orig. dat. of frux (gen. frugis), fruits, produce: for IE base see FRUIT] 1. not wasteful; not spending freely or unnecessarily; thrifty; economical 2. not… …   English World dictionary

  • frugal — 1590s, from M.Fr. frugal, from L. frugalis, from undeclined adj. frugi useful, proper, worthy, honest; temperate, economical, originally dative of frux (pl. fruges) fruit, produce, figuratively value, result, success, related to fructus (see… …   Etymology dictionary

  • frugal — »einfach (aber gesund und nahrhaft)«: Das Adjektiv wurde im 18./19. Jh. entlehnt aus frz. frugal < lat. frugalis »zu den Früchten gehörig, fruchtig«; zu lat. frux (frugis), vgl. ↑ Frucht. Gemeint ist also eigentlich das ländlich bäuerliche… …   Das Herkunftswörterbuch

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