par·si·mo·ny / ˈpärsəˌmōnē/ • n. extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources: a great tradition of public design has been shattered by government parsimony.PHRASES: principle (or law) of parsimony the scientific principle that things are usually connected or behave in the simplest or most economical way, esp. with reference to alternative evolutionary pathways. Compare with Occam's razor.

parsimony In cladistic analysis, the convention whereby the simplest explanation is preferred, because it requires the fewest conjectures, although the most parsimonious explanation is not always the correct one. See OCCAM'S RAZOR.

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 adequately in a number of different ways, then the simplest of explanations (in terms of the number of variables or propositions) should be selected.

parsimony In cladistic analysis, the convention whereby the simplest explanation is preferred, because it requires the fewest conjectures, although the most parsimonious explanation is not always the correct one.

parsimony (arch.) care in the use of money XV; stinginess XVI. — L. parsimōnia, f. pars-, pp. stem of parcere refra n, spare; see -MONY.
Hence parsimonious XVI.