Efficient
/ɪˈfɪʃənt/noun
Producing the desired result with little waste of time, effort, or resources.
Did you know?Efficient comes from Latin ēfficientem, the present participle of efficere, a verb built from ex- (“out”) + facere (“to do, make”), so its oldest sense is about bringing something into being.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dheh₁-
“to put, place, do, make”
Latin
Latin
facere
“to do, make, perform”
Latin
Latin
efficere
“to bring about, accomplish, produce”
Latin
Latin
efficientem
“accomplishing, producing an effect”
Middle English
English
efficient
“producing a desired effect; effective”
Modern English
English
efficient
“producing the desired result with little waste of time, effort, or resources”