monopsony

The term 'monopsony' is a modern economic coinage, constructed in the 1930s by analogy with its counterpart 'monopoly'. It directly combines the Greek-derived prefix 'mono-' (meaning "single" or "one") with a modified form of the Greek word 'opsōnia', which referred to the act of buying provisions. The logic is transparent: just as a monopoly describes a market with a single seller (from 'mono-' + Greek 'pōlein', "to sell"), a monopsony describes a market with a single buyer. This deliberate morphological pairing creates a precise, symmetrical term in economic theory to denote a market structure where the buyer holds dominant power due to the absence of competing purchasers.

Structure: mono (one) + opsony (purchase) - mono: From Greek μόνος (monos), meaning "alone, single, only". In this word, it functions as a combining form meaning "one". - opsony: From Greek ὀψωνία (opsōnia), meaning "the purchase of provisions". In this word, it is used in its sense of "buying" or "purchase".