Dictionary

thrifty en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈθɹɪfti/
• thrĭft'ē

Etymology

From Middle English thrifty, threfty, thryfty, þrifti, equivalent to thrift + -y.

Meanings

1. Showing thrift; economical; frugal.
   • That was a certain trade, while th' age was thrifty, / And men good husbands, look'd into their stocks, / Had their minds bounded; now the public riot / Prostitutes all, scatters away in coaches, / In footmens coats, and waiting womens gowns c. 1625, Ben Jonson, “The Staple of News”, in Peter Whalley, editor, The Works of Ben Johnson, volume IV, London, published 1756, act III, scene iv, page 201:
   • Both were thrifty and hardworking. From the beginning of their marriage both worked steadily and saved every penny above their basic living expenses. By their first anniversary they were saving almost all of Richard's earnings as a union carpenter—eighty to ninety dollars a week. 1976, Anthony Scaduto, Scapegoat: The Lonesome Death of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, →ISBN, page 110:
   • Nor less disastrous, should his thrifty urn / Neglected leave the once well-water'd land, / To dreary wastes yon paradise would turn, / Polluted ooze, or heaps of barren sand. 1754, William Whitehead, “Elegies: Elegy I”, in Robert Dodsley, editor, A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes by Several Hands, London: J. Hughs, published 1765, page 54:
2. (dated) Thriving, prosperous, successful; (of an animal or plant) growing rapidly or vigorously.
   • the lands on this road are of an excellent quality, and in many places light timbered, in others covered with thrifty oak, black walnut, sugar maple, beach and linden. 1794 November 20, “A letter from an anonymous 'gentleman'”, in The Commercial and Agricultural Magazine, for 1799, volume I […], London: Vaughan Grifiths, Paternoster-Row., published 1799, Economy of American Commerce, &c. of America, page 171:
   • A thrifty tree of twelve or eighteen inches diameter will increase in its quantity or weight by one year's growth, beyond that of a small sprout or tree in a ratio of more than five to one. 1807, “ANSWERS to Agricultural Queries”, in Papers; Consisting of Communications Made to the Massachusetts Society For Promoting Agriculture, and Extracts, Boston: The Trustees of the Society, 50th, page 47:
   • But, Gentlemen, the gallant Admiral has told you he has two loves; and he seems to have made a prudent choice, and been a very thrifty wooer. 1796, John Horne Tooke, The Speeches of John Horne Tooke, During the Westminster Election, 1796 […], London: J. Ridgeway, York-street, page 10:
   • "Cut a small branch of oleander from a thrifty plant, place it in a vial partly filled with rain water, so that the lower end of the branch may be immersed about half an inch in the water. 1847, editorial staff, “Experiment With a Plant”, in Scientific American, series 1, Volume 3, Issue 10, page 80:
   • The life of religion is this water of life; where that runs, where that is received, and where things are done in this spirit, there all things are well: The church thrifty, the soul thrifty, graces thrifty, and all is well. a. 1688, John Bunyan, “The Water of Life”, in The Whole Works of that Eminent Servant of CHRIST, the late Reverend and much Esteemed Mr. John Bunyan […], volume II, London, published 1784, page 1193:
3. (obsolete) Preserved by thrift; carefully managed.
   • They han great stores, and thriftye flockes, / great freendes and feeble foes 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “Iulye. Ægloga Septima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC, folio 42, recto:
   • But do not ſo: I haue fiue hundred Crownes, The thriftie hire I ſaued vnder your Father, Which I did ſtore to be my foſter Nurſe c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii], page 191, column 1:
   • No more the shadows of the plane-tree and the beech allay the intensity of the solstitial heat; no more the feathered tribes are heard to chirrup amidst the sprays, or the active squirrel seen to disport among the boughs, or collect his thrifty store of acrons ^([sic]) and of nuts, under the cool and impenetrable recesses of the glade. 1797, “On the Decline of the Ancient Grandeur & Picturesque Beauty”, in The Monthly Mirror: Reflecting Men and Manners, volume III, London, page 138:
   • The amount of patient toil, with its thrifty rewards; of domestic happiness, with its radiant comforts; the amount of intelligent culture, of high-aimed virtue, and of kindly charity, — that have been realized here, if not matter of our boasting, is the glory of our inheritance. 1854, George E. Ellis, Our Good Land, and its Good Institutions: A Discourse Delivered in Harvard Church, Charlestown, on Thanksgiving Day, November 30, 1854, Boston: Crosby, Nichols, and Company., page 16:

Forms

Antonyms

thriftless · spendthrift · spendthrift

Deriveds

thriftiness · overthrifty · thriftily

Synonyms

chary · penny-pinching · cheap · thrifty · prudent · sparing · parsimonious · husbandly · economical · provident · economic · close with a buck · huswifely · abstemious · tight · canny · spareful · moderate · spary · tightwad · frugal

Translations (60)

pt parcimonioso (given to, or evincing, thrift) · uk заоща́дливий (given to, or evincing, thrift) · bg буйно растящ (growing rapidly or vigorously) · es ahorrador (given to, or evincing, thrift) · cmn 節儉 /节俭 (given to, or evincing, thrift) · ja 倹しい (given to, or evincing, thrift) · es ahorrativo (given to, or evincing, thrift) · be экано́мны (given to, or evincing, thrift) · nb sparsommelig (given to, or evincing, thrift) · mk штедлив (given to, or evincing, thrift) · ru эконо́мный (given to, or evincing, thrift) · fi nopeakasvuinen (growing rapidly or vigorously) · gl aplicado (given to, or evincing, thrift) · bg пестели́в (given to, or evincing, thrift) · da sparsommelig (given to, or evincing, thrift) · gd dèanadach (given to, or evincing, thrift) · pt económico (given to, or evincing, thrift) · el οικονόμος (given to, or evincing, thrift) · uk еконо́мний (given to, or evincing, thrift) · az qənaətcil (given to, or evincing, thrift) · grc φειδωλός (given to, or evincing, thrift) · az təsərrüfatcıl (given to, or evincing, thrift) · pl oszczędny (given to, or evincing, thrift) · bg икономи́чен (given to, or evincing, thrift) · de sparsam (given to, or evincing, thrift) · it parsimonioso (given to, or evincing, thrift) · fi vauras (secured by thrift; well husbanded) · ru бережли́вый (given to, or evincing, thrift) · uk оща́дливий (given to, or evincing, thrift) · be ашча́дны (given to, or evincing, thrift) · el φειδωλός (given to, or evincing, thrift) · fi säästäväinen (given to, or evincing, thrift) · be беражлі́вы (given to, or evincing, thrift) · bg процъфтяващ (thriving by industry and frugality) · ro econom (given to, or evincing, thrift) · la frūgālis (given to, or evincing, thrift) · cmn 節約 /节约 (given to, or evincing, thrift) · az yığımcıl (given to, or evincing, thrift) · fi hyvin hoidettu (secured by thrift; well husbanded) · fi vaurastuva (thriving by industry and frugality) · cs šetrný (given to, or evincing, thrift) · hu takarékos (given to, or evincing, thrift) · fr économe (given to, or evincing, thrift) · gd cùramach (given to, or evincing, thrift) · cs spořivý (given to, or evincing, thrift) · sk sporivý (given to, or evincing, thrift) · sl varčen (given to, or evincing, thrift) · mi whakamoamoa (given to, or evincing, thrift) · ga tábhachtach (given to, or evincing, thrift) · ca estalviador (given to, or evincing, thrift) · la parcus (given to, or evincing, thrift) · ru хозя́йственный (given to, or evincing, thrift) · sv sparsam (given to, or evincing, thrift) · ru процвета́ющий (thriving by industry and frugality) · fi hyvinvoiva (well appearing) · pt econômico (given to, or evincing, thrift) · sk šetrný (given to, or evincing, thrift) · sh štedljiv (given to, or evincing, thrift) · nb nøysom (given to, or evincing, thrift) · uk бережли́вий (given to, or evincing, thrift)