frugal

From Middle French, from Latin frugalis (“virtuous, thrifty”). Displaced native Old English spærhende (literally “spare-handed”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɹuːɡəl/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -uːɡəl

frugal (comparative more frugal, superlative most frugal)

1. Of something which is consumed (such as money, goods, etc.): Careful or wise in expenditure; avoiding waste.

   frugal advice

   • 1776, Adam Smith, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, Book II, Chapter III:

     By what a frugal man annually saves, he not only affords maintenance to an additional number of productive hands, for that or the ensuing year, but [also] establishes as it were a perpetual fund for the maintenance of an equal number in all times to come.

2. Of something which is supplied or used (especially food): Obtained by or characterized by frugality.

   frugal fortune; frugal fare

   frugal breakfast

   • 1762, Oliver Goldsmith, edited by Austin Dobson, The Citizen of the World, volume II, London: J. M. Dent and Co., published 1891, page 48:

     […] a frugal meal, which consisted of roots and tea, […]

   • 1868, Robert Browning, “Half-Rome” (chapter II), in The Ring and the Book:

     Pinching and paring he might furnish forth / A frugal board, bare sustenance, no more, […]

• cheap
• economical
• thrifty
• See also Thesaurus:frugal

• extravagant
• lavish
• prodigal
• spendthrift
• simple

• “frugal”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• “frugal”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “frugal”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.

Borrowed from Late Latin frūgālis.

• IPA^(key): /fʁy.ɡal/

• Audio:

  (file)

frugal (feminine frugale, masculine plural frugaux, feminine plural frugales)

1. frugal, austere

• frugalement
• frugalité

• “frugal”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Latin frūgālis.

• Rhymes: -al
• Hyphenation: fru‧gal

frugal m or f (plural frugais)

1. frugal, economical

• frugalidade

• “frugal”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2025

Borrowed from French frugal, from Latin frugalis.

• IPA^(key): [fʁuˈɡaːl]
• Hyphenation: fru‧gal

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

frugal (strong nominative masculine singular frugaler, comparative frugaler, superlative am frugalsten)

1. frugal

• “frugal” in Duden online
• “frugal” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Borrowed from Latin frūgālis.

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: fru‧gal

frugal m or f (plural frugais)

1. frugal, economical

• frugalmente

• frugalidade

Borrowed from French frugal, from Latin frugalis.

• IPA^(key): /fruˈɡal/

frugal m or n (feminine singular frugală, masculine plural frugali, feminine and neuter plural frugale)

1. frugal

• frugalitate

• “frugal”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2025

From Latin frūgālis.

• IPA^(key): /fɾuˈɡal/ [fɾuˈɣ̞al]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: fru‧gal

frugal m or f (masculine and feminine plural frugales)

1. frugal

   Synonym: parco

2. economical

   Synonym: económico

• “frugal”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024