the word 'uneconomic' is a modern english formation built upon the established adjective 'economic'. the prefix 'un-', with its roots in old english and ultimately proto-germanic, is a highly productive negator. it is attached to 'economic', a term which entered english via latin from the greek oikonomikos, originally pertaining to the prudent management of a household (oikos). therefore, the literal construction 'not economic' directly leads to its modern meanings: first, describing an activity that is not profitable or efficient, extending the household management concept to broader commerce; and second, simply denoting something not connected to the science of economics.

Structure: un (not) + economic (relating to economics) - un: a prefix of germanic origin, used to form words expressing a negative, reversal, or lack. - economic: from latin oeconomicus, from greek oikonomikos ('relating to household management'), from oikonomos ('household manager'), from oikos ('house') + nomos ('law, managing').