economist
Pluraleconomists
- 1An expert in economics who studies economic data and draws out broader conclusions or proposes theories.
The economist warned that rising interest rates could slow hiring across several industries.
Government economists revised their forecast after the latest unemployment figures.
- 2A person concerned with political economy, the study of how a nation's economy and its government affect each other.
The economist insisted that tariffs were a matter for the state, not the market alone.
Eighteenth-century economists disputed the proper role of the crown in regulating trade.
- 3A person who manages money, time, or labor carefully and judiciously, without waste.
Note
Thrift rather than theory: the word breaks down as economy + -ist, and here economy means careful saving, not the study of markets. Like the household-manager meaning, it is obsolete, and calling someone "a shrewd economist of time" now risks sounding like praise for a specialist. Present-day English would say economizer, or simply call the person thrifty or frugal.
Less common meaning
- 4A person who manages and oversees a household and its domestic affairs.
As economist of the manor, she directed the servants and oversaw the kitchens.
A capable economist kept the household running while the master traveled abroad.
Note
The meaning closest to the word's origin: Middle French économiste meant "household manager." It is obsolete now, so a modern reader who meets "the economist of the manor" will picture an expert in economics unless the setting is plainly domestic. It suits historical fiction or pastiche. Elsewhere, steward or housekeeper says the same thing without the confusion.
Practice
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Origin
From Middle French économiste ("household manager"); by surface analysis, economy plus the suffix -ist.