From Latin 'efficere' (to bring about) — originally Aristotle's 'efficient cause,' later refined to mean minimal waste.
Achieving maximum productivity with minimum wasted effort or expense; working in a well-organized and competent way.
From Latin efficiēns (accomplishing, effective), present participle of efficere (to work out, accomplish, bring about, produce), composed of ex- (out) + facere (to do, to make), from PIE *dʰeh₁- (to put, to place, to make). The literal sense is 'making out' or 'working something out' — bringing a result into existence. In Aristotelian philosophy, the 'efficient cause' (causa efficiens) was the agent or force that brings something into being, a technical usage that dominated medieval scholastic thought. The modern sense of 'productive with minimal waste' developed in English during the Industrial Revolution, when mechanical and economic
Aristotle's 'efficient cause' — the agent or force that brings something into being — is the philosophical origin of the word. In Aristotelian philosophy, the efficient cause of a statue is the sculptor, the one who 'makes it come out.' The modern sense of 'doing things with minimal waste' only emerged in the 19th century with industrialization and engineering.
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