Word of the Day

: March 4, 2009

oligopsony

noun ah-luh-GAHP-suh-nee

What It Means

: a market situation in which each of a few buyers exerts a disproportionate influence on the market

oligopsony in Context

The elimination of small local vendors by a handful of national chain groceries has created an oligopsony where farmers cannot receive fair prices for their yields.

Did You Know?

You're probably familiar with the word "monopoly," but you may not recognize its conceptual and linguistic relative, the much rarer "oligopsony." Both "monopoly" and "oligopsony" are ultimately from Greek, although "monopoly" passed through Latin before being adopted into English. "Monopoly" comes from the Greek prefix “mono-" (which means "one") and “pōlein” ("to sell"). "Oligopsony" derives from the combining form “olig-" ("few") and the Greek noun “opsōnia” ("the purchase of victuals"), which is ultimately from the combination of “opson ("food") and “ōneisthai” ("to buy"). It makes sense, then, that "oligopsony" refers to a "buyers' market" in which the seller is subjected to the potential demands of a limited pool of buyers. Another related word is "monopsony," used for a more extreme oligopsony in which there is only a single buyer.