Parsimony
1Parsimony — is a less is better concept of frugality, economy, stinginess or caution in arriving at a hypothesis or course of action. The word derives from Middle English parcimony , from Latin parsimonia , from parsus , past participle of parcere : to spare …
2parsimony — par‧si‧mo‧ny [ˈpɑːsɪməni ǁ ˈpɑːrsˌmoʊni] noun [uncountable] formal extreme unwillingness to spend money: • The gap between government parsimony and the needs of sport is filled by commercial sponsorship. parsimonious adjective : • Some accuse… …
3Parsimony — Par si*mo*ny, n. [L. parsimonia, parcimonia; cf. parcere to spare, parsus sparing: cf. F. parcimonie.] Closeness or sparingness in the expenditure of money; generally in a bad sense; excessive frugality; niggardliness. Bacon. [1913 Webster] Awful …
4parsimony — parsimony, parsimonious The principle that the best statistical model among all satisfactory models is that with the fewest parameters. Hence, more generally, the principle which asserts that if it is possible to explain a phenomenon equally… …
5parsimony — (n.) early 15c., from L. parsimonia sparingness, frugality, from pars , stem of parsi, perf. tense of parcere to spare, save + monia, suffix signifying action, state, or condition …
6parsimony — ► NOUN ▪ extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources. DERIVATIVES parsimonious adjective. ORIGIN Latin parsimonia, parcimonia, from parcere be sparing …
7parsimony — [pär′sə mō΄nē] n. [ME parcimony < L parcimonia < parcere, to spare: akin to (com)pescere, to enclose, limit] a tendency to be over careful in spending; unreasonable economy; stinginess …
8Parsimony — (Roget s Thesaurus) < N PARAG:Parsimony >N GRP: N 1 Sgm: N 1 parsimony parsimony parcity| Sgm: N 1 parsimoniousness parsimoniousness stinginess &c. >Adj. Sgm: N 1 stint stint Sgm: N 1 illiberality illiberality avarice …
9parsimony — [[t]pɑ͟ː(r)sɪməni, AM mo͟ʊni[/t]] N UNCOUNT (disapproval) Parsimony is extreme unwillingness to spend money. [FORMAL] Due to official parsimony only the one machine was built …
10parsimony — in phylogenetic systematics, the principle that the phylogeny requiring the least number of character changes is most likely correct (simpler is better). Use of many characters may swamp reversals and convergences as these are relatively rare and …
